Kinney County, in Southwest Texas, is perhaps one of the earliest settled counties in the State, although not always known as Kinney County, and has had a most interesting history. Now composed of 1,391 square miles of land, it at one time was a part of the District of Bexar and many old records of land in this county are in the Courthouse records in San Antonio. About 1850 – a very large area, including Kinney County and other western counties, was cut off from Bexar District and gradually formed into the counties we know today: Kinney, Uvalde, and Val Verde.
The first meeting of the Commissioners’ or County Court of Kinney County was held in what was then Brackett – now known as Brackettville – on January 27, 1873. Counties that border Kinney County are Edwards to the North, Uvalde to the East, Maverick to the South, and Val Verde to the West. The County is now nearly perfectly square, 36 miles north and south by 34 1/3 east and west, with the southwest corner bordering Mexico at the Rio Grande for a short distance. The altitude of the county ranges from 1,000 to 2,000 feet and has an average annual rainfall of 22 inches.
The population currently is about 3580. The only other town in the county, Spofford, has a population of 74. Several streams run though the county. On the west the Sycamore Creek separates Kinney and Val Verde for a distance of approximately 16 miles. The Pinto is a lovely stream with deep fishing places. Las Moras creek rises from the ground at Fort Clark. The Elm and Mud Creeks are the smaller streams. The Nueces River flows through the County from the north, having its source in Edwards County. All these streams run approximately from the north to south and all eventually, except the Nueces, find their way into the Rio Grande on the south.
The northwest corner of the county is on the southern fringe of the Edwards Plateau and gradually leans toward the Rio Grande Plain. The town of Brackettville is situated just about midway between these two areas. The Nueces River on the north, with its beautiful scenic spots, its canyons and hills, gradually gives way to the guajillo ridges. For the most part, the southern half of the county is much lower ground, much more level and covered by its own grasses and browse. Pecan trees grow all along the stream, as do live oak, huisache and mesquite. Kinney County is primarily a ranching county, with large ranches and comparatively few farms, although irrigation has led to an increase in farming in recent years.
