Names of South Texas towns have changed

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Daniella Campbell
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1 Names of South Texas towns have changed By Murphy Givens March 07, 2012 The map of South Texas would look a lot different if some earlier names had stuck. Ingleside, for example, was called Hatch's Settlement in 1858, then Palomas Spanish for doves until the name was changed to Ingleside. For years we heard that "Ingleside" was taken from a poem by Robert Burns, "The Cotter's Saturday Night." I read that old Scottish poem several times, but never found "Ingleside" in it. The closest is the line "They, round the ingle (fireside), form a circle wide." Maybe another poem by Robert Burns has Ingleside in it. Here's a case for some happy Googling. Port Aransas was called Turtle Cove, Star, Ropesville, Tarpon, then Port Aransas. Rockport was Rocky Point before it was Rockport. It changed its name to Aransas Pass, then back to Rockport. Aransas Harbor changed its name to Aransas Pass after Rockport gave up the name. Bayside was known as Black Point and Indianola was first called Powderhorn. A railroad stop called Corpus Christi Junction was renamed Gregory. Mesquital, named for a mott of mesquite trees, changed its name to Taft, in honor of rancher Charles Taft, half brother of President Taft. Sinton was named for a Taft Ranch director, David 1/5

2 Sinton, who wanted to call the place Berlin. Refugio for a time was called Wexford, after County Wexford in Ireland, but they reverted to the original name for Nuestra Señora del Refugio Mission. San Patricio was originally called Villa de San Patricio de Hibernia. Beeville was called Maryville, after Mary Hefferman, the survivor of an Indian massacre in The name Beeville came from Gen. Bernard E. Bee, who was secretary of war during the Republic of Texas; it was not named for his son, Hamilton Bee, a Confederate general known for his ability to retreat. Bishop was first called Julia Siding and Alice, named for Alice King Kleberg, was first called Bandana. Three Rivers was called Hamiltonberg, after landowner Annie Hamilton and Freer was known as Government Wells. San Diego was first called Perezville and Lagarto was called Roughtown, for its rowdy saloons, then that was changed to Lagarto for the alligators in Lagarto Creek. Corpus Christi for its first two years was called Kinney's Rancho, but by 1841 Kinney was calling it Corpus Christi after the bay. Old Communities For much of its early history, Corpus Christi was confined by its downtown and uptown areas. On its northern end, near the Courthouse, was Irishtown. On the west side of the bluff, a block west of today's Central Library, was Blucherville, where the Bluchers built their homes. Past Blucherville was an area called 2/5

3 Little Mexico. Across the bayou to the north was the Rincon (meaning corner or secluded place), which was later called Brooklyn, then North Beach, and finally Corpus Christi Beach. In the 1870s, a small wooden bridge over the bayou connected Corpus Christi to Brooklyn. So we had our own Brooklyn Bridge 10 years before the "Eighth Wonder of the World" opened in New York in To the northwest was the community of Juan Saenz, which had a post office in 1906 and about 150 people. A few miles away was Nuecestown, 12 miles from Corpus Christi, which was often called Twelve Mile Motts in its early years. Calallen, near Nuecestown, was founded in 1908 by rancher Calvin J. Allen. There was also Annaville, begun in 1940 when Leo Steward and his wife Anna built a store and put out a sign that said "Annaville." North Pole was between Calallen and Annaville. Each Christmas, people would drive there to get their letters stamped "North Pole, Texas." The name was said to have come from railroad surveyors, who called it North Pole because it was the highest elevation along the line. Another version said the place was called Sykes until one cold winter when they began to call it North Pole. To the south was Flour Bluff, the name dating back to a smuggling incident in 1838 when a cargo of flour was dumped on the peninsula. But the community dates to about On the way to Flour Bluff was Aberdeen, where the Seaside Cemetery is today, Brighton, on the shore of Laguna Madre and named for Brighton, Tenn., and Encinal. 3/5

4 To the west was Kostoryz, founded in 1904 by Czech farmers and named for Stanley Kostoryz. Farther out was Clarkwood, platted and founded in 1909 by Z. H. Clark. The name came from combining Clark's name with an earlier name of Woodland Park. As Corpus Christi grew, it swallowed up Brooklyn, Aberdeen, Clarkwood, Flour Bluff, Brighton, Sunshine, Juan Saenz, Riverside, Calallen and Annaville, as urban uniformity pressed on. Some names have survived, more in memory than actual usage, while others have disappeared, like the communities themselves. Slogans South Texas towns adopted some colorful nicknames and slogans, which are interesting in what they reveal about a town's aspirations or self image. Portland once called itself the "Gem City of the Gulf." Ingleside called itself "The Atlantic City of Texas," then dropped that in favor of "The Playground of the South." Aransas Pass had a long slogan "The City of Certainty, Where the Sails Meet the Rails." My favorite was Taft's slogan, which could have been taken as a direct challenge to its citizens, as if they were idle and unprofitable "Where Permanent Prosperity Rewards Honest Effort." Robstown's slogan, without a civic blush, was "God's Most Livable Land and Most Lovable People." Alice called itself "The Windmill Town" then "Hub City." Because of its truck farms, Odem billed itself as "Evergreen Acres." The slogan for Mathis was, "As Good As the Best and Better Than the Rest," and Port 4/5

5 Aransas cast the line, "Where They Bite Every Day," meaning the tarpon. Corpus Christi once called itself the Naples on the Gulf, then Bluff City, followed by Texas Riviera, and finally Sparkling City by the Sea. Now, when that is used, it is usually in a rather testy and ironic sense, for Corpus Christi is known as a town where its citizens are always up in arms about something. Corpus Christi could easily adopt Port Aransas' old slogan Where They Bite Every Day and the fish too. Find this article at: givens/names of south texas towns have changed ep html Check the box to include the list of links referenced in the article. 5/5

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