More historic than 27% of U.S. towns · #273 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Kenedy was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1910.
The Kenedy post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Kenedy Junction (1887), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,147 in 19102020 census: 3,473139 years
How historic is Kenedy?
C
More historic than 27% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Kenedy post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kenedy’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kenedy is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #273 of 642 in Texas. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kenedy’s overall grade.
Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Kenedy’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (34% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Kenedy’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In the early 1900s many of Kenedy's gunfighter shootings caused the town to be nicknamed "Six Shooter Junction".
In 1901, Gregorio Cortez and his brother Romaldo were tenant farmers on the W. A. Thulmeyer Ranch, approximately ten miles west of Kenedy. While investigating a reported horse theft, Karnes County Sheriff W. T. "Brack" Morris and his deputies questioned several Kenedy residents before traveling to the ranch. A confrontation there, complicated by misunderstandings in translation, resulted in Morris wounding Romaldo and Cortez shooting and killing Morris. Cortez subsequently fled, beginning a widely publicized manhunt.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Kenedy’s post office has been open since 1887. Another post office, Kenedy Junction, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Kenedy
1887–today
Kenedy Junction
1887–1887
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Rialto Theaterbuilding
1cemetery inside Kenedy
Kennedy
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Kenedy’s history
What year was Kenedy founded?
The Kenedy post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Kenedy rank for history?
Kenedy is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #273 of 642 in Texas. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Kenedy?
7% of Kenedy’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1985.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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