Three years after holding Texas’ first state fair, Henry L. Kinney was indicted in Philadelphia on May 4, 1855 for plotting to invade Nicaragua. The ex-smuggler and shady founder of Corpus Christi was, as always, up to no good.
The Pennsylvania native was 18, when he visited relatives at the Irish colony of San Patricio in 1832. He wandered back to Texas five years later and set up shop on the western bank of the Nueces River, where it empties into Corpus Christi Bay.
The spot was a perfect site for a smuggling operation. As the westernmost outpost in the three year old Republic, the ramshackle settlement was far removed from the prying eyes of disapproving officials. Free to do as he pleased, the nefarious newcomer got right down to business.
