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Kinney County TX
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BRACKETTVILLE, TEXAS

Kinney County Seat, Texas Hill Country

29° 18' 55" N, 100° 24' 54" W (29.315278, -100.415)

US 90, State Hwy 131
FM 334 & FM 674
30 miles E of Del Rio
39 miles W of Uvalde
45 miles N of Eagle Pass
122 miles W of San Antonio on US 90
ZIP code 78832
Area code 830
Population: 1,686 Est. (2019)
1,688 (2010) 1,876 (2000) 1,740 (1990)

Brackettville Area Hotels › Del Rio Hotels

 Brackettville, Texas  - crossing the river vintage photo
Crossing the River
Click on image to enlarge

Old Photo courtesy Dan Whatley Collection

History in a Pecan Shell

In 1852, the town was named after Oscar Brackett who was a sutler to Fort Clark. The town started around his store around 1852 and was first called Brackett (as it is today by residents).

In 1875 when the town was granted a post office - the postal authorities assigned the ville to avoid confusion with another Brackett, Texas.

When Kinney County came into being in 1876, Brackettville became the county seat. The Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway was heading toward Del Rio and bypassed Brackettville. This would've killed any other town, but Brackettville had Fort Clark for economic security. Spofford was the town who benefited from the railroad.

As Fort Clark's population increased, so did the standard of living in Brackettville.

A local quarry supplied limestone blocks for the building of permanent structures.

The years of 1878-1882 were particularly prosperous, although there was a flood in 1880 (and other in 1899). Although the railroad bypassed Brackettville, there was daily stagecoach service to Spofford - 10 miles South.

In 1896 the town had a population of 1,000 which doubled by 1926. A good part of the Brackettville population has historically been made up of the Seminole Indian Scouts. This is a group descended from an original 150 Black and Seminole Indians who were employed by the U.S. Army to scout around the border.

The town of Brackettville has a surprising amount of shade - especially along Hackberry Creek.


See Brackettville Chronicles

Brackettville Landmarks/Attractions


1910  Kinney County Courthouse today, Brackettville TX
Photo courtesy Terry Jeanson, January 2009
Kinney County Courthouse

Kinney County Jail, Brackettville Texas
Photo courtesy Terry Jeanson, January 2009
Kinney County Jail



Brackettville TX - Fort Clark Barracks
TE photo, March 2002

Fort Clark

National Register of Historic Places
A former Cavalry Post. Established in 1852, deactivated in 1947. Today "Fort Clark Springs", a private resort. The spacious spring-fed pool (Las Moras Springs) a majpr attraction. The museum and many well preserved buildings make it easy to imagine life here in the 1860s. The Post Theater remains as it was in 1946, the year the Post was decommissioned.

[See Fort Clark]
[See Swimming to Mexico, Part IV - Ft. Clark Springs]

Fort Clark Guardhouse Museum:
Displays includes artifacts from the Black Seminal Indain Scout and Buffalo soldier units. www.fortclark.com



Brackettville TX - Heritage Museum
The Kinney County Museum
TE photo, March 2002

Kinney County Museum

TE photo 1999

  • The Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery:
    Just west of town on FM 693 and then South. Follow the signs.

  • Scenic Drives:
    FM 674 North to Rocksprings - Winding road along steep cliffs and hills with views of West Nueces River.
    FM 334 NE to Texas 55 intersection.

  • Kickapoo Cavern State Park
    Approximately 22 miles north of Brackettville

  • Brackettville Texas - the original Kinney Count y courthouse
    The 1879 original Kinney County Courthouse
    Today the Masonic Lodge
    standing near the present courthouse
    TE photo, March 2002

    "This building on the courthouse square was built in 1878-79 and served as the first county-owned courthouse. When the current courthouse was completed in 1911, this building served as the headquarters of the Las Moras Masonic Lodge. The first floor was used as a post office from 1918 to 1983." - Terry Jeanson

    Masonic Lodge, Brackettville Texas
    TE photo, March 2002
    More Texas Lodges

    Brackettville TX - Stagecoach Stop and Sargent Hotel
    The Stagecoach Stop and Sargent Hotel (ca. 1852)
    218 E ElPaso St. Brackettville, Texas 78832
    "Being recovered now open to public 2021" - Susan Hughes
    Photo courtesy Susan Hughes, October 2020
    More Rooms with a Past

    Brackettville TX - Cannon In Square
    Cannon in the square
    TE photo, March 2002

    Brackettville TX - Cannon In Square
    TE photo, March 2002

    More Bracketteville Limestone Architecture


    Brackettville TX - Limestone  Building
    TE photo, March 2002

    Brackettville TX - Limestone  ruins
    TE photo, March 2002

    Brackettville TX - Limestone  Building doorway
    TE photo, March 2002

    Brackettville TX - Limestone  Building
    TE photo, March 2002

    Brackettville TX - limestone house
    Brackettville limestone house
    TE photo, 1999

    Brackettville TX house
    TE photo, 1999

    Brackettville TX -resident
    TE photo, March 2002

    Brackettville Chronicles

  • Drought and Skeleton by Mike Cox
    Skeleton in Brackettville...

  • The Whirlwind Lt. John Lapham Bullis and the Seminole Negro Scouts by C. F. Eckhardt
    "One of the least-known heroes of the Texas frontier was a man known to his followers as The Whirlwind and to his enemies as The Thunderbolt..... John Bullis didn't do it all alone. He had a lot of help. The help, mostly, was the Seminole Negro scouts. What became of them?..."

  • Johanna Domodora of South Texas by Linda-Kirkpatrick
    Out of the PWA the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was born. Thanks to the WPA and the monies paid to writers, we now have a collection of interviews of people whose stories would have been lost in history. Florence Angermiller's interview with Johanna July of Brackettville, Texas is a story that I have read over and over...

  • "Saloons on Every Corner and Plenty in Between..." by Mike Cox

  • Fort Clark Barely Misses Being Start of Civil War by Mike Cox ("Texas Tales" Column)

  • Old colorful doorway, South Texas architecture
    A doorway in Brackettville
    TE photo

    TX Kinney County 1940s Map
    Kinney County 1940s map showing Brackettville
    From Texas state map #4335

    Courtesy Texas General Land Office



    Take a road trip
    Texas Hill Country

    Brackettville, Texas Nearby Towns:
    Del Rio
    Uvalde
    Eagle Pass
    See Kinney County

    Book Hotel Here:
    Del Rio Hotels | Uvalde Hotels | More Hotels

    Texas Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact us.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     


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