A Brief History of Corpus Christi, Texas

In 1519, Spanish explorer Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda discovered what is now home to the largest city on the Texas Coast and is the sixth largest port in the nation. Corpus Christi, founded in 1838-1839, began as a frontier trading post. It remained an obscure settlement until July 1845, when U.S. troops set up camp in preparation for war with Mexico. The Army remained until March 1846, and about a year later, the city took the name Corpus Christi. Since its incorporation in 1852, Corpus Christi has grown into a regional hub for marketing, processing, packaging and distributing agricultural commodities for a 12-county trade area.