John Dunn, Jr. Homesite
Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Texas
Marker Inscription
John Dunn, Sr., (1803-1889) immigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1851. He began acquiring large amounts of property in Nueces County, including this site which he purchased in 1868 from Jonas Pickles. This section of his landholdings was inherited by his youngest son, John Dunn, Jr. (1853-1941). Dunn, Jr., began working as a young boy herding sheep for his father. He received most of his schooling in Father Gonnard's School for Boys in Corpus Christi. As a young man, Dunn participated in posses that captured Mexican raiders and horse rustlers. He eventually acquired nearly 12,000 acres of ranchland and was known throughout the Corpus Christi area for his philanthropic land donations, particularly to the Roman Catholic Church. The one story section of this home was built by Dunn in 1889 in anticipation of his marriage to Mary Tom (1856-1937). The home served as headquarters for Dunn's ranching operations and was enlarged as his family grew. Located on land that has been in the Dunn family since 1868, the homesite stands as a reminder of early Nueces County settlement. (1985)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Dunn homesite grew from the ambitions of an Irish immigrant family who built an empire of South Texas land. John Dunn, Sr., arrived from Ireland in 1851 and began buying up property in Nueces County, passing this parcel to his son, who started as a boy herding sheep and ended up owning nearly 12,000 acres. John Dunn, Jr., built the first section of this ranch house in 1889 as he prepared to marry, and it grew room by room as headquarters for his cattle operations and as his family expanded.
Why it matters
The Dunn family's rise from immigrant sheepherders to major ranchers embodies the land-based opportunity that drew newcomers to the South Texas frontier after mid-century.
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Related people
- · John Dunn, Sr.
- · John Dunn, Jr.
- · Mary Tom
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Matthew Dunn arrived from Ireland and hitched his fortunes to the American army, enlisting as a sutler — a civilian supplier — with Gen. Zachary Taylor's troops, who landed at Corpus Christi in 1845 on the eve of the Mexican War. There he met Col. Henry Kinney, the town's founding promoter, who urged Dunn to bring his four brothers over from Ireland; between 1849 and 1868 they did, and Kinney deeded Dunn some of his land. From this frontier foothold the Dunns became one of South Texas's prominent families.
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