KENEDY COUNTY
Kenedy County lies on the Gulf Coast with a land area of 1,457 square miles plus an additional 489 square miles covered by water. Its elevation is no more than 100 feet above sea level. Rainfall averages 30 inches per year while mean January lows are 45 and mean July highs are 95. Most of the county is covered by brush and mesquite and the soil is sandy with some loam. The county’s population of only 414 in 2000 is expected to grow by fewer than 100 by 2020 (Texas State Demographer, all sets of assumptions). The county seat is Sarita with about 250 inhabitants.
Spanish ranching began in the late 1700’s. One early land grant to José Nicolás Cabazos in 1792 comprised over one-half million acres. Anglos came to the region after the Mexican War. The county was not created until 1921, one of the last in Texas, from parts of Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy Counties.
Consolidation reduced the number of ranches in the county to seven by 1945 with an average size of over 70,000 acres within the county. (By far the largest in the Texas, the King Ranch, with 825,000 acres, falls within Nueces, Kenedy, Kleberg, and Willacy Counties.) Livestock account for over 90 percent of the value of agricultural production. Oil and natural gas are the largest non-agricultural source of income. Hunting, fishing, and bird watching are significant recreational activities and tourist attractions.