For more than half of its 150-year history, Corpus Christi was confined by the downtown and uptown areas. On its northern end was Irishtown, where the old courthouse is, and to the west on the bluff was Blucherville. Further out were small communities.
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The oldest of these was Nuecestown, which dates back to the 1850s. In the 1880s, there was Brooklyn, on North Beach. To the south was Flour Bluff, founded in 1891. Between Flour Bluff and Corpus Christi was Aberdeen, where Seaside Cemetery is today. Near Flour Bluff was Brighton. It was famous for its onion crops. Nearby was Encinal, on Oso Bay. It later came to be called Sunshine. It had a post office and its school lasted until the 1940s, when the Sunshine and Aberdeen districts combined to form the Sundeen district.
West of Corpus Christi was Kostoryz, founded in 1904 by Czech farmers. Further out was Clarkwood, platted in 1909 by Z.H. Clark.
Northwest of the city was Juan Saenz. It had a post office in 1906 and 150 people. Further out was Calallen, founded in 1908 by Calvin J. Allen. Riverside, three miles from Five Points, was founded in 1911. Annaville began in 1940 when Lee Stewart and his wife Anna built a store, and put a sign out front that said, "Annaville." Between Calallen and Annaville was North Pole. Each Christmas, people would drive there to get their letters postmarked "North Pole, Texas."
Corpus Christi began to spread out after the port opened in 1926, followed by the building of the naval air station in 1940. The city absorbed Brooklyn, Aberdeen, Kostoryz, Clarkwood, Flour Bluff, Brighton, Sunshine, Aberdeen, Juan Saenz, Riverside, Calallan, and Annaville. Some of the those names still survive, but others have all but disappeared, like the communities themselves.
Murphy Givens' Radio Column may contain some material from his newspaper column, but the two commentaries are separate creations.
He can be heard every Friday on KEDT 90.3 FM, Corpus Christi or KVRT 90.7 FM, Victoria at 7:35 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
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