Sarita, Texas: The French Riviera of Texas

Calling Sarita the French Riviera of Texas is like calling an animal cracker an Oreo cookie. Not quite the same. It’s 40 miles from Baffin Bay, the closest water source. But it was still on our list of Texas Coastal cities to visit. 

Sarita is the county seat of Kenedy County. You might recognize the name from the discussion about Kingsville. Here’s the scoop:
 
Richard King and Mifflin Kenedy were partners in a steamboat company and they made their money by monopolizing the water trade along the Rio Grande. Kenedy was also originally partners in the Santa Gertrudis Ranch (King Ranch). Kenedy eventually sold his shares and purchased the Laureles Ranch just South of Corpus Christi.  He and King were the first to fence off their ranches as a deterrent to theft. Kenedy sold the Laureles Ranch in 1882 and later established La Parra Ranch and the Kenedy Pasture Company. He had 762,000 acres of land.
 
When Mifflin Kenedy died, his son, John G Kenedy, inherited the ranch.

In 1904, John founded the town of Sarita, naming it for his daughter.  Using land that was previously part of the ranch, the town served the employees of the ranch and the Kenedy Pasture Company. There was a company store, ranch offices and buildings. Most of the residents of the town were involved with the Kenedy Ranch in some way. The headquarters of the Kenedy Pasture Company is now a museum.

John Kenedy had two children: John Jr and Sarita. When John Sr died unexpectedly in 1931, the ranch was divided between the two children. Neither John Jr or Sarita had children. When they passed away, the ranch was then managed by two separate trusts.

The ranch house, Rancho La Parra, was willed to the Oblate Fathers of the Catholic Church by Sarita. You can't get to the house as the road leading to it is blocked. I found this photo on the internet.
 
There was a guy who claimed to be the grandchild of John Jr and a Mexican maid that worked at the house. Apparently, his grandmother mentioned it on her deathbed. After nine years of court battles, the Texas Supreme Court denied his claim and his request to exhume the body of John Jr on the basis that he waited too long. That hardly seems fair.

There used to be a train depot. The town became a stop on the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway, which connected all the towns from Brownsville to Houston. The depot was built in 1907. Passenger service ended in the mid-1960s and, sadly, the depot was demolished in the 1970s.

Sarita was originally part of Willacy County. The courthouse was built in 1917. When Kenedy County was carved out of Willacy County in 1921, the existing courthouse became the courthouse for Kenedy County. It’s one of the only courthouses in Texas to have served two counties.

There are 238 people that live in Sarita. There are no retail outlets at all. No grocery stores, no convenience stores - nothing. 

They have the courthouse, the museum, a school and the church, Our Lady of Guadalupe. The nearest grocery store is in Kingsville which is 20 miles away. The nearest gas station is in Riviera which his about 5 miles away.

To say it's peaceful is an understatement since we didn't see any people while we were there on a Saturday. Still, I'm glad we stopped in to see it. I only wish we'd had the time to check out the museum.

If you're in the area, stop and check it out!