Editing Kinney County, Texas (section)

==History==

===Native Americans===

The first inhabitants were 6,000–10,000 years ago and later came to include [[Lipan Apache people|Lipan Apache]], [[Mescalero|Mescalero Apache]], [[Coahuiltecan]], [[Suma-Jumano|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 [[Rock art|petroglyphs]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Mescalero Apache History and Culture |url=http://www.mescaleroapache.com/area/history_and_cul.htm |publisher=Mescalero Apache Telecom, Inc. |access-date=December 14, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714074552/http://www.mescaleroapache.com/area/history_and_cul.htm |archive-date=July 14, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="Kinney County, Texas">{{cite web|last=Long|first=Christopher|title=Kinney County, Texas|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hck09|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=December 14, 2010}}</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 explorations===

[[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>{{cite web|last=Chipman|first=Donald E|title=Fernando de Azcue|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/faz01|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=December 14, 2010}}</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 [[Monclova|Nuestra Sra. de Guadalupe]]. He was accompanied by Franciscan friars Juan Larios and Dionisio de San Buenaventura.<ref>{{cite web|last=Chipman|first=Donald E|title=Fernando del Bosque|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fboaj|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=December 14, 2010}}</ref> [[Alonso De León]] in 1688 discovered French explorer and [[René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle|La Salle]] expedition deserter [[Jean Gery|Jean Henri]] in a somewhat confused state of mind, among the Coahuiltecan Indians near the site of present [[Brackettville, Texas|Brackettville]], generally believed to be at Anacacho Mountain.<ref>{{cite web|last=Chipman|first=Donald E|title=Alonso De León|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fde06|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=December 13, 2010}}</ref> During the late 18th century, several Franciscans established a settlement on Las Moras Creek near the center of the county.<ref>{{cite web|title=Las Moras Creek |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rbl31|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=December 14, 2010}}</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>{{cite web|last=Riser|first=Carl Coke|title=Beale's Rio Grande Community|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ueb01|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=December 14, 2010}}</ref>

===County established===

The state legislature formed Kinney County from [[Bexar County, Texas|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, Texas|Fort Clark]] in June 1852 on Las Moras Creek, and named it after John B. Clark, who had died in the Mexican War.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hudnall|first=Ken and Sharon|title=Spirits of the Border V: The History and Mystery of the Lone Star State|year=2005|publisher=Omega Press|isbn=978-0-9626087-9-7|pages=266–267}}</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">{{cite web|title=Brackettville, Texas|url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasHillCountryTowns/BrackettvilleTexas/BrackettvilleTx.htm|work=Texas Escapes|publisher=Texas Escapes – Blueprints For Travel, LLC|access-date=December 14, 2010}}</ref> On February 18, 1861, on orders from [[David E. Twiggs|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 Seminoles===

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>{{cite web|last=Eckhardt|first=C F|title=Lt. John Lapham Bullis and the Seminole Negro Scouts |url=http://www.texasescapes.com/CFEckhardt/Whirlwind-Lt-John-Lapham-Bullis-and-the-Seminole-Negro-Scouts.htm|work=Texas Escapes|publisher=Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC|access-date=December 14, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Harvey|first=Bill|title=Texas Cemeteries: The Resting Places of Famous, Infamous, and Just Plain Interesting Texans|url=https://archive.org/details/texascemeteriesr00harv|url-access=limited|year=2003|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-73466-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/texascemeteriesr00harv/page/n81 72]}}</ref>

===County organization and growth===

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>{{cite book|last=Orsi|first=Richard J|title=Sunset Limited: The Southern Pacific Railroad and the Development of the American West, 1850–1930|year=2005|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-20019-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/sunsetlimitedsou00orsi_0/page/22 22]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/sunsetlimitedsou00orsi_0/page/22}}</ref> through [[Spofford, Texas|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 [[National Railroad of Mexico|Mexican National Railroad]] at the Rio Grande.<ref>{{cite web|title=Spofford, Texas|url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasHillCountryTowns/SpoffordTexas/SpoffordTexas.htm|work=Texas Escapes|publisher=Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC|access-date=December 14, 2010}}</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 (1960 film)|''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>{{cite book|last=Haenn|first=Bill and William F|title=Fort Clark and Brackettville: Land of Heroes |year=2002|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7385-2063-6|pages=115–129|chapter=Filming The Alamo and Creation of Alamo Village}}</ref>  Kickapoo Cavern State Park, {{convert|6400|acre|km2}} in both Edwards and Kinney Counties, opened to the public in 1991. It was formerly a private ranch.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kickapoo Cavern State Park |url=http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/parkguide/rgn_hc_018.phtml |publisher=Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept |access-date=December 14, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220073441/http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/parkguide/rgn_hc_018.phtml |archive-date=February 20, 2011 }}</ref> The Kinney County Groundwater Conservation District was approved by the voters in 2002.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Schreiber|first=Colleen|title=Kinney County Another Field Of Battle In Texas Water War|journal=Livestock Weekly|date=March 2, 2004}}</ref>

===Undocumented migrants===
{{See also|Brooks County, Texas}}
Kinney County's southwest border is for {{convert|13|mile}} the [[Rio Grande]] and the border of Mexico. It is on the route for undocumented border crossers heading for [[San Antonio, Texas|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>{{cite web
|title=Defend Our Borders
|author=Kinney County, Texas
|authorlink=Kinney County, Texas
|date=2021
|accessdate=December 12, 2021
|url=https://defendourborders.org/}}</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>{{cite news
|title=Kinney Co. officials issue disaster declaration, calling on state leaders for help. County leaders said criminal activity is surging as a result of the influx of migrants crossing into the U.S.
|newspaper=[[KENS-TV]]
|first=Vanessa
|last=Croix
|date=April 21, 2021
|url=https://www.kens5.com/article/news/special-reports/at-the-border/kinney-co-officials-issue-disaster-declaration-calling-on-state-leaders-for-help/273-1ac31fd5-c37d-4221-8675-d201ab40f6d3}}</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>{{cite news
|title=Helicopters and High-Speed Chases: Inside Texas' Push to Arrest Migrants. Texas is using state law enforcement in an unusual way in an attempt to stem illegal border crossings. The tactic is raising constitutional concerns and transforming life in one small town
|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
|first=J. David
|last=Goodman
|date=December 11, 2021
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/11/us/texas-migrant-arrests-police.html}}</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>{{Cite news |last=Herrera |first=Jack |date=2025-05-01 |title=How One Texas County Has Profited Off of Migrant Deportations |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/01/us/migrants-border-bail-forfeit-kinney-county-texas.html |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>