CORPUS CHRISTI

city, seat (1846) of Nueces county, southern Texas, U.S., port on Corpus Christi Bay at the mouth of the Nueces River, 145 miles (233 km) southeast of San Antonio; it is sheltered from the Gulf of Mexico by Mustang and Padre islands. Founded in 1838 by Colonel Henry Lawrence Kinney as a trading post, it was named in 1846 after the bay. It was the scene of Mexican War operations and American Civil War blockade skirmishes. The railroads arrived (18811909), stimulating a land boom. The exploitation of gas (1923), development of the deepwater port (1926), and the discovery of the Saxtet oil field (1939) laid the economic foundation for a modern city. The port, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, handles bulk cargoes, including grain, cotton, ores, petroleum, and raw materials. The city's economy also embraces petrochemicals, aluminum, glass, agriculture, the seafood industry, and tourism. Resort facilities (fishing and water sports) are based on the bay and the coastal barrier islands, including the Padre Island National Seashore, stretching 113 miles southward almost to Brownsville. The huge Corpus Christi Naval Air Station (1941) and an Army depot also contribute to the economy. The city is the home of Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi (1947) and Del Mar College (1935). Inc. 1852. Pop. (1990) city, 257,453; Corpus Christi MSA, 349,894; (1994 est.) city, 275,419; (1995 est.) Corpus Christi MSA, 378,936.