Artesian Park & Sulphur Well

After a convention of Republic of Texas citizens accepted terms on July 4, 1845, for annexation to the United States, General Zachary Taylor brought 4,000 men of the U.S. 3rd infantry to Corpus Christi to defend the embryonic state from indians or foreign powers. He remained eight months; more than two months after Texas became a state he marched to the Rio Grande. Among his troops in Corpus Christi were three future United States presidents (Taylor, Pierce, and Grant), and many other future celebrities. A landmark of Taylor's sojourn was a sulphur-rich artesian well he had drilled adjacent to the camp. In 1854, out of regard for the significant well and campsite, and to give the city he had founded (1839) a public park, H.L. Kinney deeded and dedicated the well site and an acre of surrounding land to the municipality. This park is one of the earliest in Texas to have been given by an individual to the public. By 1900--when a bandstand, drinking fountain and walks had been installed by civic or private means--the park was regarded as an historic, greatly cherished city facility. More land was added in 1907--08 through efforts of the Woman's Monday Club. Use and improvements have continued over 120 years.

Artesian Park & Sulphur Well is a historical marker in Corpus Christi, Nueces County, dedicated in 1976. It is one of 105 historical markers documented in Nueces County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 147 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 27.7996, -97.3943 near Corpus Christi. The nearest cataloged historic site is Guaranty Title Company (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Corpus Christi Lighthouse, Site of, and Nueces County Courthouse of 1914.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5355000213. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.