Kerr County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U. S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 43,653. Its county seat is Kerrville. Kerr County was named by Joshua D. Brown for his fellow Kentucky native, James Kerr, a congressman of the Republic of Texas. Kerr never set foot in Kerr County, as he died six years before the establishment of Kerrville.
The Kerrville Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Kerr County.
1st - Slavery is abolished in the republic.
2nd - Consequently, those who have been until now considered slaves are free.
3rd - When the circumstances of the treasury may permit, the owners of the slaves will be indemnified in the mode that the laws may provide. And in order that every part of this decree may be fully complied with, let it be printed, published, and circulated.
Given at the Federal Palace of Mexico, the 15th of September, 1829.
Vicente Guerrero To José María Bocanegra
March 2 - Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico establishes the Republic of Texas.
March 6 - The Alamo falls.
April 21-22 - Battle of San Jacinto, Antonio López de Santa Anna captured.
May 14 - Santa Anna signs the Treaties of Velasco.
April 20 - Adelsverein organized in Germany to promote emigration to Texas.
June 7 - Fisher-Miller Land Grant sets aside three million acres to settle 600 families and single men of German, Dutch, Swiss, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian ancestry in Texas.
Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels secures title to 1,265 acres of the Veramendi grant for the Adelsverein.
February - Thousands of German immigrants are stranded at port of disembarkation Indianaola on Matagorda Bay. With no food or shelters, living in holes dug into the ground, an estimated 50% die from disease or starvation. The living begin to walk to their destinations hundreds of miles away.
May - John O. Meusebach arrives in Galveston. [Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller sell their rights in the land grant to Adelsverein.
December 29 - Texas Annexation by the United States
March - Texas legislature forms Comal County from the Eighth Precinct of Bexar County. New Braunfels is the county seat.
Joshua Brown (Texas pioneer) becomes first settler.
May 13 - The United States Congress officially declares war on Mexico.
John O. Meusebach receives an appointment as commissioner from Governor Elisha M. Pease to issue land certificates to those immigrants of 1845 and 1846 who had been promised them by the Adelsverein.
May 14-15, San Antonio - The Texas State Convention of Germans adopt 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.
January 26 - Kerr County is formed from Bexar Land District Number 2. Joshua Brown donates the land that will become Kerrville, and has it named for his friend James Kerr. Kerrville is the county seat.
U. S. Camel Corps headquartered at Verde is the brainchild of United States Secretary of War (1853-57) Jefferson Davis.
County population of 634, includes 49 slaves.
Sons of Hermann lodge, for descendents of German heritage, is established in the County. The lodge is named for German chieftain folk hero Hermann the Cherusker.
A bitterly divided Kerr County votes 76-57 for secession from the Union, with most German residents being against it.
February 1 - Texas secedes from the Union.
March 2 - Texas joins the Confederate States of America.
Unionists from Kerr, Gillespie, and Kendall counties participate in the formation of the Union League, a secret organization to support President Abraham Lincoln’s policies.
The Union League forms companies to protect the frontier against Indians and their families against local Confederate forces. Conscientious objectors to the military draft are primarily among Tejanos and Germans .
May 30 – Confederate authorities impose martial law on Central Texas.
August 10 - Nueces massacre in Kinney County. Jacob Kuechler serves as a guide for 61 conscientious objectors attempting to flee to Mexico. Scottish born Confederate irregular James Duff and his Duff’s Partisan Rangers pursue and overtake them at the Nueces River, 34 are killed, some executed after being taken prisoner. Jacob Kuechler survives the battle. The cruelty shocks the people of Gillespie County. 2,000 take to the hills to escape Duff's reign of terror.
Spring Creek Cemetery near Harper 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. ”
April 9 – Robert E. Lee formally surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House.
April 15 – President Abraham Lincoln dies of a head wound inflicted by assassin John Wilkes Booth.
June 19 – Major General Gordon Granger arrives in Galveston to enforce the emancipation of all slaves. It is the first time African Americans in Texas know of the Emancipation. The date becomes celebrated annually in Texas as Juneteenth, and later as an official state holiday known as Emancipation Day.
December 6 – The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits slavery.
According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,108 square miles (2,869 km²), of which, 1,106 square miles (2,865 km²) of it is land and 2 square miles (4 km²) of it (0. 14%) is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 43,653 people, 17,813 households, and 12,308 families residing in the county. The population density was 40 people per square mile (15/km²). There were 20,228 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88. 89% White, 1. 78% Black or African American, 0. 56% Native American, 0. 51% Asian, 0. 05% Pacific Islander, 6. 60% from other races, and 1. 62% from two or more races. 19. 13% of the population were Hispanic 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 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 for the county was $19,767. About 10. 30% of families and 14. 50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21. 60% of those under age 18 and 8. 40% of those age 65 or over.
Land for sale in Kerr County, Texas
This county information was provided courtesy of Wikipedia