Kerrville -- the remarkable little city in the Heart of the Texas Hill Country

In a region tamed only by decades of back-breaking labor, Kerrville has become the unofficial capital of a new Texas Hill Country economy based on tourism, recreation and retirement.

A woodcutter named Joshua Brown is recognized as Kerrville's founder; he led a group of ten shingle-makers to the upper Guadalupe River in 1846 (the same year that Fredericksburg was founded twenty-five miles to the northeast), where a grove of huge cypress trees provided them plenty of work.

When Brown's little settlement became the seat of a new county ten years later, he named it Kerrsville (and Kerr County) after his friend, Major James Kerr (the "s" was dropped from the town's name in 1866). The town grew only very slowly until after its all-time greatest citizen returned from the Civil War in 1865.

Charles Schreiner was born in France, the son of an Alsatian dentist who came to Texas (and who died of a rattlesnake bite two weeks after his arrival) when Charles was 14. Charles joined the Texas Rangers at age 16, then entered the cattle business in Turtle Creek (a few miles south of Kerrsville) at age 19 (in 1857). A year later, he and his brother-in-law purchased a small store at Camp Verde, where the U.S. Army was conducting its famous experiment with camels.

In 1860, Schreiner married Mary Magdalena Enderle, of San Antonio, but shortly after they built their cabin in Turtle Creek, the Civil War began and he joined the Confederate Army. For three-and-a-half years, Lena kept the home fires burning while her husband fought the Union army. It wasn't easy in the best of times; during the war, it was harder. Emboldened Comanches terrorized the Texas frontier while the men were away, and the first thing Schreiner did upon his return was to help form a home guard unit to defend the town. The title of "Captain" stuck with him the rest of his life.

Schreiner was elected as county and district clerk in 1866, then as county treasurer in 1868 (a post that he held for the next 30 years). He opened a store in Kerrville in 1869, with financial backing from August Faltin, of Comfort. The 30-by-60-foot cypress-board building became the center of Kerrville's economy. Schreiner bought out his partner, expanded the store, and built a fine mansion (now the Hill Country Museum). In 1887, he was instrumental in bringing the railroad to Kerrville. In 1889, he opened the Charles Schreiner Bank, and introduced a water system and telephone service to Kerrville in the 1890s. By 1900, he had made Kerrville the "Wool and Mohair Capital of the World," and his Y.O. Ranch encompassed 600,000 acres to the west of Kerrville.

During his later years, Schreiner became a leading philanthropist, contributing to churches and schools, helping to restore the Alamo, and establishing Schreiner University in Kerrville. When he died in 1927, Kerrville schools closed down and church bells rang for an hour. The San Antonio Express eulogized him as "an intrepid and dominant figure in Texas history" in a front-page story.
Other leading Kerrville citizens were Captain Joseph Tivy, a former Texas Ranger and Kerrville mayor who donated land for the city's first permanent public school; and Sid Peterson, a prominent rancher whose sons founded the Sid Peterson Hospital -- the recently-torn-down predecessor of today's fabulous new Peterson Regional Medical Center. Howard E. Butt came to Kerrville as a boy, and went on to build the H.E.B. grocery empire; James Avery built a thriving business in Kerrville with his unique jewelry.

Kerrville's beautiful scenery, and the recreational opportunities afforded by the sparkling waters of the Guadalupe River, attracted a number of summer camps (beginning with Camp Rio Vista in 1921), where thousands of Texas young people enjoyed their summers. Many of those campers are among today's sophisticated and prosperous retirees, who have helped bring many cultural and recreational amenities to the still-relatively-small city (just 20,425 in the 2000 census).

Kerrville today is recognized for its quality museums, theaters and art galleries, as well as for excellent healthcare facilities and wide variety of shopping options. It boasts several different musical and theater arts groups. Beautiful parks line the Guadalupe River, and the Riverside Nature Center (in downtown Kerrville) provides a fascinating lesson in the flora and fauna of the Texas Hill Country. The Kerrville Folk Festival attracts quality musicians to Kerrville each spring, and the State Arts & Crafts Fair complements the year-round work of the Kerrville Arts & Cultural Center. The Kerr County Fair (in October) is one of several events reflecting the county's agricultural heritage; Schreiner University holds a "Texas Heritage Music Day" to honor former Kerrville resident Jimmie Rodgers and other pioneers of Texas music.

Three golf courses cater to Kerrville's retirees, and the Kerrville area provides many other outdoor recreational opportunities: hunting, fishing, birding, hiking, boating and bicycling are among the activities Kerrville's residents and visitors enjoy. Kerrville's active Convention and Visitors Bureau maintains a busy schedule of civic events, as well. Visit www.kerrvilletx.com or www.kerrvilletexascvb.com for more details, and pay Kerrville a visit soon! You'll see why so many make it their Texas Hill Country choice for day trips, vacations and comfortable retirements.

John Halowell