Kerr County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located on the

Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region forming the crossroads of Central, South and West Texas, United States. It is named in honor of Haden Edwards. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east; the Llano Uplift and the Lla ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 52,598. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Kerrville Kerrville is a city in Texas, and the county seat of Kerr County, Texas, Kerr County, Texas, United States. The population of Kerrville was 24,278 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Kerrville is named after James Kerr (Texas politic ...

. The county was named by Joshua D. Brown for his fellow

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

native, James Kerr, a congressman of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

. The Kerrville, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Kerr County.

History

Around 8000 BC, early Native American inhabitants arrived in the area, with numerous successive cultures following in

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

times. Historic tribes encountered by Europeans included the

Kiowa Kiowa ( ) or Cáuigú () people are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe and an Indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colora ...

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

, and

Lipan Apache Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan languages, Southern Athabaskan Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people, who have lived in the Oasisamerica, Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European ...

. In 1842, the

Adelsverein The ''Mainzer Adelsverein at Biebrich am Rhein'' (''Verein zum Schutze Deutscher Einwanderer in Texas''; "Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas"), better known as the ''Mainzer Adelsverein'' (; "Nobility Society of Mainz"), orga ...

Fisher–Miller Land Grant The Fisher–Miller Land Grant was part of an early colonization effort of the Republic of Texas. Its 3,878,000 acres covered between the Llano River and Colorado River. Originally granted to Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller, the grant w ...

set aside to settle 600 families and single men of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

, Danish,

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, and Norwegian ancestry in Texas.

Henry Francis Fisher Henry Francis Fisher (in German ''Heinrich Franz Fischer'', 1805–1867) was a German Texan. Born in Kassel, Electorate of Hesse in 1805, Fisher left the mainland in late 1833 spending a year each, in London and New York, and two years in New Orlean ...

sold his interest in the land grant to the Adelsverein in 1844. In 1845,

Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels Prince Carl (Karl) of Solms-Braunfels (27 July 1812 – 13 November 1875) was a German prince and military officer in both the Austrian army and the cavalry of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. As commissioner general of the Adelsverein, he spearheaded ...

secured the title to of the Veramendi grant, including the Comal Springs and River, for the Adelsverein. Thousands of German immigrants were stranded at port of disembarkation, Indianaola on

Matagorda Bay Matagorda Bay () is a large Gulf of Mexico bay on the Texas coast, lying in Calhoun and Matagorda counties and located approximately northeast of Corpus Christi, east-southeast of San Antonio, south-southwest of Houston, and south-southea ...

. With no food or shelter, living in holes dug into the ground, an estimated 50% died from disease or starvation. Joshua Brown, in 1846, became the first settler. The Texas State Convention of Germans met in San Antonio on May 14–15, 1854, and adopted a political, social, and religious platform, including: 1) Equal pay for equal work, 2) Direct election of the President of the United States, 3) Abolition of capital punishment, 4) “Slavery is an evil, the abolition of which is a requirement of democratic principles..”, 5) Free schools – including universities – supported by the state, without religious influence, and 6) Total separation of church and state. The next year, United States Army post Camp Verde was established. Kerr County was formed in 1856 from Bexar Land District Number 2. Joshua Brown donated the land that became Kerrville, and had it named for his friend James Kerr.

was named the county seat. The U.S. Camel Corps, headquartered at Verde, was the brainchild of

United States Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the President of the United States, U.S. president's United States Cabinet, Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's Presidency of George Washington, administration. A similar position, called either "Sec ...

(1853–57)

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

. Center Point was established in 1859. In 1860–1861, the county population was 634, including 49 slaves. The

Sons of Hermann The Order of the Sons of Hermann () is a Benefit society, mutual aid society for Germany, German immigrants that was formed in New York City on July 20, 1840,Fritz Schilo"Sons of Hermann" Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Society, ...

lodge, for descendants of German heritage, was established in the county. The lodge is named for German chieftain folk hero Hermann the Cherusker. A bitterly divided Kerr County voted 76–57 in 1861 for

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

from the Union, with most

residents being against it. Unionists from Kerr, Gillespie, and Kendall Counties participated in the formation of the

Union League The Union Leagues were quasi-secretive men's clubs established separately, starting in 1862, and continuing throughout the Civil War (1861–1865). The oldest Union League of America council member, an organization originally called "The Leagu ...

, an organization which supported President Lincoln's policies. The Union League formed companies to protect the frontier against Indians and their families against local Confederate forces.

Conscientious objectors A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or freedom of religion, religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for ...

to the military draft were primarily among

Tejanos Tejanos ( , ) are descendants of Texas Creoles and Mestizos who settled in Texas before its admission as an American state. The term is also sometimes applied to Texans of Mexican descent. Etymology The word ''Tejano'', with a ''J'' instead o ...

and Germans. Confederate authorities imposed martial law on Central Texas. The

Nueces massacre The Nueces Massacre, also known as the Massacre on the Nueces and the Battle of Nueces, was a violent confrontation between Confederate soldiers and Southern Unionist, Unionist Texas Germans on August 10, 1862, in Kinney County, Texas. Many f ...

occurred in Kinney County.

Jacob Kuechler Jacob Kuechler (February 18, 1823 – April 4, 1893) was a surveyor, conscientious objector during the American Civil War, and commissioner of the Texas General Land Office. Kuechler pioneered the science of dendrochronology to date natural even ...

served as a guide for 61 conscientious objectors attempting to flee to Mexico.

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

-born Confederate irregular James Duff and his Duff's Partisan Rangers pursued and overtook them at the Nueces River; 34 were killed, some executed after being taken prisoner. Jacob Kuechler survived the battle. The cruelty shocked the people of Gillespie County. About 2,000 took to the hills to escape Duff's reign of terror. Spring Creek Cemetery near

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name and place names, for example: Harper Islands, Nunavut. Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut * Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name ...

in Gillespie County has a singular grave with the names Sebird Henderson, Hiram Nelson, Gus Tegener, and Frank Scott. The inscription reads, “Hanged and thrown in Spring Creek by Col. James Duff’s Confederate Regiment.” The Treue der Union Monument ("Loyalty to the Union") in Comfort was dedicated to the Texans slain at the Nueces massacre August 10, 1866. It is the only monument to the Union outside of the National Cemeteries on Confederate territory, and is one of only six such sites allowed to fly the United States flag at half-mast in perpetuity. The Y O Ranch was founded in 1880 by Charles Armand Schreiner, who had opened a store in the area in 1869. On October 5, 1878, the last Indian raid in the county occurred at the present day community of Mountain Home, when four children of the Dowdy family were murdered by Indian raiders. In 1887, the

San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway first began operation in the U.S. state of Texas in 1886. It was developed by Uriah Lott and businessmen of San Antonio as a direct route from the city to Aransas Bay on the Texas Gulf coast. It was eventu ...

was built through Kerrville. The

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

of Texas established what eventually was called the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Kerrville, in 1919. The Schreiner Institute was established in Kerrville from 1917 to 1923. In 1926, Ora Johnson established Camp Waldemar Christian girls camp in

Hunt Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

Mooney Aircraft Mooney is a family name which is probably predominantly derived from the Irish Ó Maonaigh, pronounced Om-weeneey. It can also be spelled Moony, Moonie, Mainey, Meaney and Meeney depending on the dialectic pronunciation that was anglicised. Or ...

was established in 1929 in Kerrville. Kerrville was begun to be called the "Mohair Capital of the World" in 1930. The Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital was completed in 1949. Kerrville State Hospital opened in 1951.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water.

Major highways

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

U.S. Highway 83 U.S. Route 83 (US 83) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that extends in the central United States. Only four other north–south routes are longer: US 1, US 41, US 59, and US 87, while U ...

* U.S. Highway 87 * State Highway 16 * State Highway 27 *

State Highway 39 The following highways are numbered 39. For a list of roads called ''N39'', see List of N39 roads. Australia * Newell Highway * Goulburn Valley Highway * **Gore Highway **Leichhardt Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 39 * British Columbia High ...

* State Highway 41 * State Highway 173

Adjacent counties

* Kimble County (north) * Gillespie County (northeast) * Kendall County (east) * Bandera County (south) *

Real County Real County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,758. The county seat is Leakey. The county is named for Julius Real (1860–1944), a former member of the Tex ...

(southwest) *

Edwards County Edwards County is the name of several counties in the United States: *Edwards County, Illinois *Edwards County, Kansas *Edwards County, Texas Edwards County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the ...

(west)

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 43,653 people, 17,813 households, and 12,308 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 20,228 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 88.89%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.78%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.56%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, 0.51% Asian, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 6.60% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), ...

, and 1.62% from two or more races. 19.13% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 17,813 households, out of which 25.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.80% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were non-families. 27.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.84. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.70% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 22.20% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 24.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 92.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,283, and the median income for a family was $40,713. Males had a median income of $27,425 versus $21,149 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $19,767. About 10.30% of families and 14.50% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 21.60% of those under age 18 and 8.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Ingram *

(county seat)

Census-designated place

* Center Point

Unincorporated communities

* Camp Verde *

* Mountain Home

Education

School districts include: * Center Point Independent School District * Comfort Independent School District *

Divide Independent School District Divide Independent School District is a public school district based in the community of Mountain Home in western Kerr County, Texas, United States. In terms of students served, Divide ISD is the smallest district in Texas; the 2015 "graduati ...

* Harper Independent School District * Hunt Independent School District * Ingram Independent School District * Kerrville Independent School District * Medina Independent School District All of the county is in the service area of Alamo Community College District.

In popular culture

* 1963 '' Hud'' starring

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

was filmed at Camp Waldemar in

. * 1972 The first

Kerrville Folk Festival The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival with camping, held for nearly three weeks each year, in late spring/early summer, at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The festival draws around 30,000 people. It aims to present establish ...

was held. * 1975 ''

The Great Waldo Pepper ''The Great Waldo Pepper'' is a 1975 American drama (film and television), drama film directed, produced, and co-written by George Roy Hill. Set during 1926–1931, the film stars Robert Redford as a disaffected World War I veteran Aviator, pi ...

'' starring

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...

was filmed in Kerrville. * 2005 Stonehenge II, a scaled replica of the famous British attraction, was featured in the book "Weird Texas." * 2016 TV show, ''

Lethal Weapon ''Lethal Weapon'' is a 1987 American action film directed by Richard Donner and written by Shane Black. It stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover alongside Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, and Mitchell Ryan. In ''Lethal Weapon'', a pai ...

'',

Martin Riggs Martin Riggs is a fictional character from the ''Lethal Weapon'' film series created by Shane Black. Riggs was originally played by actor Mel Gibson in all four films from 1987 to 1998, and later by Clayne Crawford in the Fox television serie ...

grew up in Kerr County, Texas.

Politics

Kerr County has given the majority of its votes to Republican candidates in the majority of presidential elections since 1924. The only Democratic Party candidates to carry the county since then have been

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, with diminishing margins in each of his four electoral victories, and Texan

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

, winning by a narrow margin despite the 1964 election being a national

landslide victory A landslide victory is an election result in which the winning Candidate#Candidates in elections, candidate or political party, party achieves a decisive victory by an overwhelming margin, securing a very large majority of votes or seats far beyo ...

References

External links

Kerr County Government Home Page ''Kerr County''
*
Kerrville/Kerr County Local Government Wiki
{{authority control 1856 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1856 Texas Hill Country