Kenedy County, Texas

39 topographic sheets cover 8 settlements here, and 1 property is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

1 National Register listing published here, 1 of them a National Historic Landmark.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Texas within the United States

Kenedy County within Texas

What the record shows

85 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
1 property here is on the National Register of Historic Places, listed as a district.
The Geographic Names Information System records 8 populated places in this county; 8 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Photograph	Property	Type	Listed	Reference
	King Ranch	district	1966	66000820

The county from the air

48 shown

Flown by the U.S. Geological Survey between 1937 and 1989, the Aerial Photo Single Frames collection is the definitive mid-century view of the land: fields, roads and rivers as the camera saw them. The Survey holds 1,687 frames inside the rectangle that bounds this county; the 48 frames below were taken over the county itself, chosen across the decades of flights (at most four a year from that rectangle), so one flight cannot crowd out the rest. The full set is free to browse and download at EarthExplorer under the dataset Aerial Photo Single Frames.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1951-12-11, scale 1:17000 — 1951-12-11, scale 1:17000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1952-01-06, scale 1:17000 — 1952-01-06, scale 1:17000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1953-04-01, scale 1:32800 — 1953-04-01, scale 1:32800. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1955-01-19, scale 1:71500 — 1955-01-19, scale 1:71500. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1957-02-01, scale 1:6000 — 1957-02-01, scale 1:6000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1969-03-08, scale 1:38000 — 1969-03-08, scale 1:38000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1969-08-19, scale 1:122862 — 1969-08-19, scale 1:122862. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-03-04, scale 1:64364 — 1971-03-04, scale 1:64364. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1972-08-30, scale 1:118531 — 1972-08-30, scale 1:118531. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1972-08-30, scale 1:122901 — 1972-08-30, scale 1:122901. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1974-03-01, scale 1:20500 — 1974-03-01, scale 1:20500. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1975-02-24, scale 1:80000 — 1975-02-24, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1977-07-26, scale 1:15914 — 1977-07-26, scale 1:15914. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1979-11-13, scale 1:66000 — 1979-11-13, scale 1:66000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1979-11-13, scale 1:65888 — 1979-11-13, scale 1:65888. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1979-11-13, scale 1:64888 — 1979-11-13, scale 1:64888. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1980-11-01, scale 1:80000 — 1980-11-01, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1982-05-08, scale 1:24325 — 1982-05-08, scale 1:24325. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

Weather records

3 stations

The thermometers that kept this county's weather, as the federal records hold them. The extremes below are measured values from those records, not estimates.

SARITA 7 E 1899 to 2017, hottest 42.8 C, coldest -14.4 C
ARMSTRONG 1942 to 1978, hottest 43.3 C, coldest -10.0 C
ARMSTRONG 4SE 2005 to 2026, hottest 43.9 C, coldest -7.8 C

The 1950 census, district by district

4 districts

Who lived here in 1950, one enumeration district at a time, as the Census Bureau described each district. Each row opens its official National Archives result, with Population Schedules and ED Maps available there.

131-1Justice Precinct 1
131-2Justice Precinct 2
131-3Justice Precinct 3
131-4Justice Precinct 4

Wildfire, 1993 to 2020

171 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 171 of them, burning about 66,856 acres. 24 started naturally and 6 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	45
Debris and open burning	44
Natural	24
Equipment and vehicle use	19
Railroad operations and maintenance	13
Smoking	10
Power generation/transmission/distribution	7
Arson/incendiarism	6
Fireworks	1
Recreation and ceremony	1
Misuse of fire by a minor	1

The five largest, by the area the report gives. One of them was set deliberately.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
21 December 2017	Recreation and ceremony	14,240 acres	Padre Island National Seashore	CANE
2 January 2011	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	8,000 acres	South Texas Refuge Complex	KING RANCH
2 April 2009	Arson/incendiarism	7,157 acres	Padre Island National Seashore	TURTLE
13 May 2014	Natural	5,933 acres	Padre Island National Seashore	28 MILE
14 April 2018	Natural	4,517 acres	Padre Island National Seashore	LIGHTNING14
7 August 2014	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	4,000 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	KENEDY TRUST FIRE
10 March 2018	Debris and open burning	3,000 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	TRUST
14 February 2011	Equipment and vehicle use	2,500 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	WEST TURCOTTE RANCH

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1965 to 2025

46 of 46 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 46 reports for this county, causing no deaths, no injuries and about $36,500 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event	Reports
Hail	21
Thunderstorm Wind	16
Tornado	6
Heavy Rain	3

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
May 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Countywide	$10,000	Ranch house damaged. Outbuildings damaged, killing some livestock.
October 1995	Hail	not stated	$10,000	Breaking swell from Hurricane Opal caused water to spill across at the usual wash-over points damaging several vehicles.
October 1995	Hail	not stated	$10,000	Breaking swell from Hurricane Opal caused water to spill across at the usual wash-over points damaging several vehicles.
May 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Norias	$3,000	Trees and highway signs blown down.
May 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Norias	$2,000	Large tree limbs down.
March 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Sarita	$1,000	Extensive tree damage.
September 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Sarita	$500	no account filed
November 2025	Hail	Sarita	-	Law enforcement reported golf ball sized hail in Sarita, TX.
November 2025	Hail	Mifflin	-	The public posted a social media video showing at least golf ball size hail in Sarita at the Sarita rest stop along US-77.
November 2025	Hail	Turcotte	-	Border Patrol reported golf ball size hail at a checkpoint 14 miles south of Sarita, TX or 6.5 miles north of Armstrong, TX.
April 2016	Hail	Norias	-	Off duty NWS employee reported nickel sized hail on Highway 77 near Norias.
April 2016	Hail	Norias	-	COOP observer in Armstrong reported golfball sized hail.
August 2014	Heavy Rain	Norias	-	CO-OP observer in Armstrong reported 5.12 inches of rainfall.
May 2012	Hail	Turcotte	-	Border patrol checkpoint 15 miles south of Sarita reported predominantly nickel size hail with embedded quarter size hail.
March 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Sarita	-	The Meteorologist-in-Charge of the NWS office in Brownsville witnessed a downburst/microburst about one mile east of U.S. Highway 77 approximately 10 miles south of Sarita. The microburst produced a tremendous amount of dust; winds were estimated the winds to be near 60 mph.
March 2012	Hail	Mifflin	-	Dime to nickel sized hail on Highway 77 was reported by the Border Patrol.
April 2012	Tornado (EF0)	Sarita	-	A tornado was reported on the Kenedy Ranch, approximately 3 miles south of Rivera (Kleberg County). This storm would later produce a damaging tornado near Kingsville. The National Weather Service Office in Corpus Christi relayed the report to from the general public.
October 2011	Heavy Rain	Armstrong	-	The cooperative observer at Armstrong reported 3.64 inches of rain from mid afternoon thunderstorm clusters passing through central Kenedy County on October 9th. Estimated rainfall of 2 to 3 inches also fell in northern Willacy County as the clusters moved and developed toward the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
October 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Norias	-	The Rincon Del San Jose TCOON site reported a wind gusts to 66 miles per hour during a thunderstorm which moved through the coastal areas early in the afternoon. Note: This location is immediately east of the Kenedy County Laguna Madre coastline and is used as a proxy to estimate winds over this area.
September 2009	Heavy Rain	Sarita	-	A CO-OP observer reported 2.41 inches of rain fell during a thunderstorm which moved through the Sarita area during the early afternoon Sunday September 11th.
October 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Sarita	-	A Texas Coastal and Ocean Observing Network site at Baffin Bay, just a few miles northeast of Kenedy County, recorded wind gusts up to 65 mile per hour when line of strong to severe thunderstorms rapidly developed in western Kenedy County and raced east. Wind gusts at or above 60 mph continued until 1236 PM. Note: Wind gust value is used as a proxy to estimated value on the nearby promontory of northeast Kenedy County.
February 2008	Hail	Rudolph	-	A trained spotter reported an isolated thunderstorm produced hail up to 1.25 inches in diameter in an area approximately 9 miles North Northeast of Raymondville.
May 2006	Tornado (F0)	Sarita	-	Tornado was reported by the U.S. Border Patrol near Armstrong. The tornado touched down over open ranch land and produced no damage.
May 2006	Hail	Sarita	-	Large hail was reported by a CO-OP observer.
April 2004	Hail	Sarita	-	Large hail was reported by the general public.
May 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Sarita	-	Thunderstorm wind gust of 60 mph was reported by a NWS cooperative observer east of Sarita.
September 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Sarita	-	A wind gust of 56 knots (65 mph) was estimated by Border Patrol officials located at the Border Patrol checkpoint on U.S. Highway 77, 10 miles south of Sarita.
March 2000	Tornado (F0)	Norias	-	A classic supercell thunderstorm produced a brief tornado that knocked over trees in a 200 yard swath on the Santa Cecilia ranch. This tornado was observed by a citizen living on the ranch.
May 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Sarita	-	Border patrol checkpoint located at Sarita estimated 75 mph winds associated with a squall line or a line echo wave pattern thunderstorm complex.
June 2006	Hail	Norias	-	no account filed
May 2005	Hail	Sarita	-	no account filed
May 2005	Hail	Sarita	-	no account filed
May 2005	Hail	Sarita	-	no account filed
April 2003	Hail	Sarita	-	no account filed
May 1999	Hail	Sarita	-	no account filed
April 1999	Hail	Norias	-	no account filed
May 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Norias	-	no account filed
May 1999	Hail	Sarita	-	no account filed
May 1999	Hail	Norias	-	no account filed
May 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Port Mansfield	-	no account filed
May 1992	Thunderstorm Wind	not stated	-	no account filed
August 1980	Thunderstorm Wind	not stated	-	no account filed
August 1980	Tornado (F0)	not stated	-	no account filed
July 1979	Thunderstorm Wind	not stated	-	no account filed
June 1973	Tornado (F0)	not stated	-	no account filed
June 1965	Tornado (F3)	not stated	-	no account filed

Every populated place in the county

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

Armstrong

Sarita census division · Armstrong quadrangle

11 sheets, 1923 to 1985
Julian

Sarita census division · Julian quadrangle

11 sheets, 1923 to 1985
La Parra Landing

Sarita census division · Riviera Beach quadrangle

12 sheets, 1928 to 1989
Norias

Sarita census division · Norias quadrangle

11 sheets, 1923 to 1985
Rudolph

Sarita census division · Near Divisadero · Rudolph quadrangle

13 sheets, 1922 to 1985
Sarita

Sarita census division · 78385 · Sarita quadrangle

8 sheets, 1928 to 1989
Turcotte

Sarita census division · Turcotte quadrangle

8 sheets, 1928 to 1989
Yarborough

Sarita census division · Yarborough Pass quadrangle

11 sheets, 1950 to 1989

Provenance

Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.