Kinney County, Texas

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Kinney County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,129.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its county seat is Brackettville.<ref name="GR6">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The county was created in 1850 and later organized in 1874.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is named for Henry Lawrence Kinney, an early settler.

Kinney County's self-proclaimed biggest issue since the 2010s is undocumented immigration from Mexico through the county. The county claims it does not have the resources to deal with the large number of migrants, and in 2021 proclaimed a state of emergency.<ref name="Croix"/><ref>Chases rampant at southern border, plaguing communities</ref>

HistoryEdit

Native AmericansEdit

The first inhabitants were 6,000–10,000 years ago and later came to include Lipan Apache, Mescalero Apache, Coahuiltecan, Jumanos, Tamaulipans, Tonkawa, and Comanches. These tribes settled in rock shelters in the river and creek valleys, leaving behind artifacts and caches of seeds, implements, burial sites, and petroglyphs.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Kinney County, Texas">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Most of the Indians that raided the county after the civil war were the Kickapoo, Seminole, and Lipan Apache. These Indians sometimes worked with Mexicans to raid the area.

By the mid 1870s to early 1880s, Indian raids mostly stopped throughout the area and other counties like Val Verde County, Texas, Edwards County, Texas, and Real County, Texas.

Early explorationsEdit

Saltillo Alcalde Fernando de Azcué passed through the southeast corner of the county in 1665 on an expedition, becoming the first European to cross the Rio Grande.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Franciscan Brother Manuel de la Cruz explored the county in 1674. In 1675, Fernando del Bosque traversed the area on an expedition up the Rio Grande from the city of Nuestra Sra. de Guadalupe. He was accompanied by Franciscan friars Juan Larios and Dionisio de San Buenaventura.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Alonso De León in 1688 discovered French explorer and La Salle expedition deserter Jean Henri in a somewhat confused state of mind, among the Coahuiltecan Indians near the site of present Brackettville, generally believed to be at Anacacho Mountain.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During the late 18th century, several Franciscans established a settlement on Las Moras Creek near the center of the county.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1834, while the area was still under Mexican control, English land speculators John Charles Beales and James Grant attempted to establish an English-speaking colony called Dolores at the site. Streets were laid off and 59 colonists were brought in, but the project was abandoned.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

County establishedEdit

The state legislature formed Kinney County from Bexar County in 1850, five years after Texas statehood, and named it for Henry Lawrence Kinney.<ref name="Kinney County, Texas"/> The United States Army established Fort Clark in June 1852 on Las Moras Creek, and named it after John B. Clark, who had died in the Mexican War.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Brackettville was founded in 1852 originally as the town of Brackett and named for Oscar B. Brackett, who came to set up a stage stop and opened the town's first dry-goods store. Brackett became a stop on a stage line from San Antonio to El Paso, but the settlement grew very slowly because of continuous Indian attacks. The town received its first post office in 1875.<ref name="Brackettville, Texas">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On February 18, 1861, on orders from United States Army General David E. Twiggs, Fort Clark was surrendered to the Texas Commission. Twiggs was dismissed by the United States for the act, and subsequently joined the Confederacy. The fort was evacuated by federal troops on March 19 and occupied by Confederate troops under the command of Confederate Colonel John R. Baylor. It remained in the hands of the Confederates until the end of the war, but was not garrisoned. In December 1866, it was reestablished as a federal fort.

Black SeminolesEdit

In early 1872, a number of Black Seminoles living along the border were organized into a company of scouts and brought to Fort Clark. Others joined them, and by the mid-1870s, they numbered some 400 to 500. For the next quarter century, they lived on a reservation along Las Moras Creek. In 1914, the Black Seminoles were removed from the Fort Clark reservation, but some of their descendants still live in the county. The Seminole Indian Scouts cemetery was founded on Fort Clark in 1872.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

County organization and growthEdit

The county was organized in 1874. County government followed in 1875. In 1876, Brackettville was designated county seat after the final boundaries of the county were set by the legislature.<ref name="Brackettville, Texas"/> In 1870, the county had 14,846 cattle, and large numbers of cattle were driven north during the great drives of the mid-1870s. By 1880, sheep outnumbered cattle 55,597 to 7,966, and Kinney County became an important source of wool.<ref name="Kinney County, Texas"/> The construction of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway (later part of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and today part of the Union Pacific Railroad)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> through Spofford in 1883 gave the wool and mohair industry access to markets. At the same time, it also helped to bring in numerous new settlers. In 1925, a branch line of the Texas and New Orleans Railroad was built from near Spofford to connect with the Mexican National Railroad at the Rio Grande.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A large Civilian Conservation Corps camp constructed adjacent to Fort Clark helped to employ some people during the Great Depression. With the onset of World War II, wool and mohair were in demand for the defense industries. Fort Clark was closed in 1946.<ref name="Kinney County, Texas"/>

James T. “Happy” Shahan constructed Alamo Village on his ranch near Brackettville during the late 1950s, for filming of the 1960 John Wayne epic The Alamo. Preserved as a tourist attraction, Alamo Village continued to serve as a set for hundreds of movies and documentaries. In 1969, Happy Shahan hired 18-year-old Johnny Rodriguez to sing at Alamo Village, an opportunity that rocketed Rodriguez to stardom.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Kickapoo Cavern State Park, Template:Convert in both Edwards and Kinney Counties, opened to the public in 1991. It was formerly a private ranch.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Kinney County Groundwater Conservation District was approved by the voters in 2002.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Undocumented migrantsEdit

Template:See also Kinney County's southwest border is for Template:Convert the Rio Grande and the border of Mexico. It is on the route for undocumented border crossers heading for San Antonio, the closest city. According to the Kinney County official Web page, "Our county is being bombarded by hundreds of illegal aliens on a daily basis. Our local law enforcement is overwhelmed with illegal alien smuggling activity".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In April 2021, Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe, County Judge Tully Shahan, and Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith jointly issued a declaration of a state of disaster in the county.<ref name=Croix>Template:Cite news</ref> The State of Texas, under Governor Greg Abbott, has been moving state police and the Texas State Guard into Kinney and adjacent Val Verde County. As they cannot enforce federal immigration laws, they arrest migrants for trespassing on private property (ranches).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Kinney County has a reputation for its aggressive enforcement of trespassing laws. A New York Times investigation found that the county arrested hundreds of migrants, collected bail from the migrants, and kept the money after the migrants were deported. The county stood out for keeping the bail money; other counties typically return bail money to migrants who were deported. Over a four-year period, the county collected $1.7 million, which is equivalent to funding the sheriff's department for a year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

GeographyEdit

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (0.4%) are covered by water.<ref name="GR1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The county is separated from Mexico by the Rio Grande, and drained by numerous small tributaries of that river.<ref>Template:Cite AmCyc</ref>

Major highwaysEdit

Adjacent counties and municipiosEdit

DemographicsEdit

Template:US Census population

2020 censusEdit

**Kinney County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition**
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	% 2000	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	1,587	1,496	1,489	46.97%	41.58%	47.59%
Black or African American alone (NH)	44	39	36	1.30%	1.08%	1.15%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	5	19	21	0.15%	0.53%	0.67%
Asian alone (NH)	4	10	10	0.12%	0.28%	0.32%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	0	0	2	0.00%	0.00%	0.06%
Other race alone (NH)	0	6	15	0.00%	0.17%	0.48%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	32	24	86	0.95%	0.67%	2.75%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	1,707	2,004	1,470	50.52%	55.70%	46.98%
Total	3,379	3,598	3,129	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2020 United States census, 3,129 people, 1,475 households, and 782 families were residing in the county.

As of the census<ref name="GR8">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> of 2000, 3,379 people, 1,314 households, and 940 families resided in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 1,907 housing units averaged Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 75.8% White, 1.7% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 18.6% from other races, and 3.4% from two or more races. About 50.5% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 1,314 households, 27.2% had children under 18 living with them, 61.8% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were not families. About 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.55, and the average family size was 3.10.

In the county, the age distribution was 25.7% under 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 21.5% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 24.3% who were 65 or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.8 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 99.0 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,320, and for a family was $32,045. Males had a median income of $26,422 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,350. About 19.2% of families and 24.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.0% of those under 18 and 16.1% of those 65 or over.