Kenedy, Texas
| Kenedy, Texas | |
|---|---|
| City | |
 Location of Kenedy, Texas |
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| Coordinates: 28°49′N 97°51′W / 28.817°N 97.850°WCoordinates: 28°49′N 97°51′W / 28.817°N 97.850°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Karnes |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Randy Garza |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.3 sq mi (8.6 km2) |
| • Land | 3.3 sq mi (8.6 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 266 ft (81 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 3,487 |
| • Density | 1,049.2/sq mi (405.1/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 78119 |
| Area code(s) | 830 |
| FIPS code | 48-38860 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1360572 |
Kenedy is a city in Karnes County, Texas, United States, named for Mifflin Kenedy, who bought 400,000 acres (1,600 km2) and wanted to develop a new town that would carry his name. The population was 3,296 at the 2010 census.
In the early 1900s many of Kenedy's gunfighter shootings caused the town to be nicknamed "Six Shooter Junction".
During World War 2, the Kenedy Alien Detention Camp was located near the outskirts of the town, on a former Civilian Conservation Corps site. Though it later served as a prisoner of war camp, it started as an internment camp for people of German, Italian and Japanese ancestry deported from Latin America, as well as some who were long-term residents of the U.S. The camp opened in April 1942, when the first group of Latin American deportees arrived: 456 Germans, 156 Japanese and 14 Italians. Despite State Department prisoner exchanges, in which German and Japanese Latin Americans were "repatriated" and traded for U.S. citizens in Axis custody, Kenedy's population swelled to 2,007 by October 1943: 1,168 Germans, 705 Japanese, 72 Italians, and 62 "miscellaneous." The 705 of Japanese descent included U.S. civilians. In 1944, the remaining internees were transferred to other facilities, and by September it had been converted to a German POW camp; beginning in July 1945, the camp was also used to house Japanese POWs. The camp was closed at the end of the war, in September 1945.
Kenedy is also the site of the John Connally Unit, a state prison. On December 13, 2000, a group called the Texas Seven escaped from that prison. They would go on a deadly crime spree before being caught.
Kenedy is located at 28°49′N 97°51′W / 28.817°N 97.850°W (28.8143, -97.8496).
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Wikipedia