Editing Kenedy, Texas

{{Distinguish|Kenedy County, Texas}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name            = Kenedy, Texas
| settlement_type          = [[City]]
| nickname                 = 
| motto                    = "The Junction Where Good Friends Meet"

<!-- Images -->| image_skyline            = Kenedy Texas (1 of 1).jpg
| imagesize                = 
| image_caption            = Downtown Kenedy
| image_flag               = 
| image_seal               = <!-- Maps -->
| image_map                = TXMap-doton-Kenedy.PNG
| mapsize                  = 250px
| map_caption              = Location of Kenedy, Texas
| image_map1               = Karnes County Kenedy.svg
| mapsize1                 = 250px
| map_caption1             = <!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name         = United States
| subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1        = [[Texas]]
| subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Texas|County]]
| subdivision_name2        = [[Karnes County, Texas|Karnes]]

<!-- Government -->| government_footnotes     = 
| government_type          = 
| leader_title             = Mayor
| leader_name              = James Sutton
| leader_title1            = 
| leader_name1             = 
| established_title        = 
| established_date         = <!-- Area -->
| unit_pref                = Imperial
| area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_48.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 7, 2020}}</ref>
| area_magnitude           = 
| area_total_km2           = 9.52
| area_land_km2            = 9.49
| area_water_km2           = 0.03
| area_total_sq_mi         = 3.68
| area_land_sq_mi          = 3.67
| area_water_sq_mi         = 0.01

<!-- Population -->| population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
| population_footnotes     = 
| population_total         = 3473
| population_density_km2   = 353.17
| population_density_sq_mi = 914.62

<!-- General information -->| timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
| utc_offset               = -6
| timezone_DST             = CDT
| utc_offset_DST           = -5
| elevation_footnotes      = 
| elevation_m              = 81
| elevation_ft             = 266
| coordinates              = {{coord|28|49|N|97|51|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code              = 78119
| area_code                = [[Area code 830|830]]
| blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info               = 48-38860<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
| blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info              = 1360572<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=2008-01-31|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=2007-10-25}}</ref>
| website                  = {{URL|www.cityofkenedy.org}}
| footnotes                = 
}}
'''Kenedy''' is a city in [[Karnes County, Texas|Karnes County]], [[Texas]], United States, named for [[Mifflin Kenedy]],<ref>{{Handbook of Texas|id=fki19|name=Mifflin Kenedy}}</ref> who bought {{convert|400000|acre|km2}} and wanted to develop a new town that would carry his name. The population was 3,473 at the 2020 census,<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4838452| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001), Karnes city, Texas| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| work=American FactFinder| access-date=April 18, 2019| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213045614/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4838452| archive-date=February 13, 2020| url-status=dead}}</ref> up from 3,296 at the 2010 census.

==History==
In the early 1900s many of Kenedy's gunfighter shootings caused the town to be nicknamed "Six Shooter Junction".<ref name="tsha1">[https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hgk05 Handbook of Texas Online.]</ref>

During World War II, the [[Kenedy Allen Detention Camp]] was located near the outskirts of the town, on a former [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] site. Though it later served as a [[prisoner of war]] camp, it started as an [[internment]] camp for people of German, Italian, and Japanese ancestry deported from [[Latin America]], as well as some who were long-term residents of the U.S.<ref name="tsha1"/><ref name=Mak>Mak, Stephen. [http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Kenedy%20%28detention%20facility%29/ "Kenedy (detention facility)"] ''Densho Encyclopedia'' (accessed 17 Jun 2014).</ref> The camp opened in April 1942, when the first group of Latin American deportees arrived: 456 Germans, 156 Japanese and 14 Italians.<ref name=Mak/> Despite State Department prisoner exchanges, in which German and Japanese Latin Americans were "repatriated" and traded for U.S. citizens in [[Axis powers|Axis]] custody, Kenedy's population swelled to 2,007 by October 1943: 1,168 Germans, 705 Japanese, 72 Italians, and 62 "miscellaneous".<ref name=Mak/> The 705 of Japanese descent included U.S. civilians.<ref name=NPS>J. Burton, M. Farrell, F. Lord, R. Lord. ''Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites'': [http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/anthropology74/ce17d.htm "Department of Justice Internment Camps: Kenedy, Texas"] National Park Service (accessed 17 Jun 2014).</ref> In 1944, the remaining internees were transferred to other facilities, and by September it had been converted to a German POW camp; beginning in July 1945, the camp was also used to house Japanese POWs.<ref name=NPS/> The camp was closed at the end of the war, in September 1945.<ref name=Mak/>

The [[John B. Connally Unit]], a state prison, is located {{convert|2|mi|0}} south of the city limits. On December 13, 2000, a group called the [[Texas Seven]] escaped from that prison. They would go on a deadly crime spree before being caught.

On July 24, 2019, the Karnes Countywide Newspaper featured a story on a Kenedy house with ties to a world famous San Antonio landmark.  Blueprints by Hugman-Silber Architects were discovered in the cedar closet of the house.  The blueprints were drawn and traced by [[Robert H.H. Hugman]], the acknowledged visionary behind the [[San Antonio River Walk]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mysoutex.com/karnes_countywide/news/entertainment_and_society/kenedy-house-has-ties-to-sa-riverwalk/article_7a66dea6-ae32-11e9-9eea-9774ca807b75.html|title=Kenedy house has ties to SA Riverwalk|website=mysoutex|date=July 24, 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-07-24}}</ref>

==Geography==

Kenedy is located in south-central Karnes County at {{coord|28|49|N|97|51|W|type:city}} (28.8143, –97.8496).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> [[U.S. Route 181]] runs through the west side of the city, leading northwest {{convert|6|mi|0}} to [[Karnes City, Texas|Karnes City]], the [[county seat]], and {{convert|60|mi}} to [[San Antonio]]. To the south US-181 leads {{convert|31|mi}} to [[Beeville, Texas|Beeville]] and {{convert|88|mi}} to [[Corpus Christi, Texas|Corpus Christi]]. [[Texas State Highway 72]] (Main Street) passes through the center of Kenedy, leading northeast {{convert|25|mi}} to [[Yorktown, Texas|Yorktown]] and southwest {{convert|33|mi}} to [[Three Rivers, Texas|Three Rivers]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city of Kenedy has a total area of {{convert|9.4|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|0.03|sqkm|order=flip|2}}, or 0.29%, are water.<ref name="Census 2010"/>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1910= 1147
|1920= 2015
|1930= 2610
|1940= 2891
|1950= 4234
|1960= 4301
|1970= 4156
|1980= 4356
|1990= 3763
|2000= 3487
|2010= 3296
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
|2020=3473}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+'''Kenedy racial composition as of 2020'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US4838860&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2 |access-date=2022-05-24 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref><br /> (NH = Non-Hispanic){{efn|Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.<ref>https://www.census.gov/ {{nonspecific|date=August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About the Hispanic Population and its Origin |url=https://www.census.gov/topics/population/hispanic-origin/about.html |website=www.census.gov |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>}}
!Race
!Number
!Percentage
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] (NH)
|807
|23.24%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] (NH)
|71
|2.04%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] (NH)
|2
|0.06%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] (NH)
|57
|1.64%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] (NH)
|1
|0.03%
|-
|Some Other Race (NH)
|10
|0.29%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed/Multi-Racial]] (NH)
|46
|1.32%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]]
|2,479
|71.38%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''3,473'''
|
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 3,473 people, 1,231 households, and 786 families residing in the city.

As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 3,487 people, 1,266 households, and 907 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|1,049.2|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 1,550 housing units at an average density of {{convert|466.4|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 72.44% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 3.18% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.72% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.72% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.17% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 20.68% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 2.09% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 64.90% of the population.

There were 1,266 households, out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 17.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.20.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.0% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,647, and the median income for a family was $25,152. Males had a median income of $25,779 versus $17,895 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $13,929. About 23.4% of families and 25.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 33.1% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.

==Education==
The city is served by the [[Kenedy Independent School District]].

==Notable people==

* [[Carl Baugh]], [[Young Earth creationism|Young-Earth]] creationist
* [[Jim Busby]], Major League Baseball player
* [[Blas Elias]], musician
* [[Cliff Gustafson]], head coach for 29 seasons of the [[University of Texas at Austin]] baseball team
* [[Mike Whitwell]], NFL player

==Climate==
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.  According to the [[Köppen Climate Classification]] system, Kenedy has a [[humid subtropical climate]], abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.<ref>[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=257414&cityname=Kenedy%2C+Texas%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Kenedy, Texas]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{notelist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.cityofkenedy.org/ Official website]

{{Karnes County, Texas}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Texas]]
[[Category:Cities in Karnes County, Texas]]