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What’s in a Name:
In 1851, a small group of settlers conceived the idea of establishing a trading post in what was then, the southwest part of Nueces County. They named their first settlement “Collins” after N.G. Collins, an extensive landowner and prominent citizen of the locality. Since then, the town’s name had many revisions from “Bandana,” after the Red Bandana, symbol of the Cleveland-Thurman presidential campaign; “Kleberg,” after the renowned Robert Kleberg of the famous King Ranch; and when the name “Kleberg” was refused recognition by postal authorities, the name settled to “Alice” after Robert Kleberg’s wife, Alice King Kleberg.
The Birth of a Metropolis:
The first significant stride in the development of Alice as an industrial center was in 1977 when the Texas-Mexican Railway Company began the construction of the railway line from Corpus Christi to Laredo. About the year 1886, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway Company completed a railway line which ran south of San Antonio to intersect in Alice.
Because of its central location and the crossroads of commerce via the railways, Alice underwent several economic transitions, but it always thrived and prospered. Ranching and the cattle business were the first principal industries in the surrounding territory and Alice soon became a shipping point for livestock. As such, it prospered to such an extent that it came to be recognized at one time as the largest inland cattle shipping center in the world, and, although other industries have, to a large extent, displaced the cattle industry as the main source of revenue for the city, Alice still retains much of its former distinction among the prominent cattle shipping centers.
The suitability of the rich soil in the region surrounding Alice for agriculture was soon discovered, and this section rapidly developed into a farming area. Alice soon became a distribution center for corn, cotton, small grains, grasses and vegetables. As the city continued to expand and grow, dairy farming also began to make headway as a profitable enterprise. On June 2, 1904, Alice (which was still part of Nueces County) was incorporated as a cit. In March 11, 2911 Jim Wells County, so named after Judge James B. Wells, was created by act of Legislature, and Alice became its County seat.
About April 17, 1938. H. H. Howell brought in the Alice Oil Field. With the coming of the oil industry to Alice and its surrounding territory, the future of Alice was assured. Favored, as it is, by its location in the center of South Texas and with its facilities as a shipping center, it soon came to be known as the “The Hub of South Texas.” The rate of its growth and development was accelerated to an alarming degree by the establishment of the oil industry. Oil camps, trucking companies, supply houses, machine shops and drilling companies, with their personnel moved to Alice to establish headquarters and a residence here.
The demand for labor grew, and people from all of South Texas swarmed into the fair city, promoting commerce and creating a greater demand for retail business of all types as well as suitable housing. Old businesses grew and prospered and new businesses sprang up to meet the needs and demands of the populace. The aspect of Alice’s growth and development as a city was transformed from that of a steadily progressing rural community to that of a thriving small metropolis.
The need for public institutions immediately became apparent as the population of Alice increased. Churches, schools and other public buildings were overcrowded and measures had to be taken to relieve the situation and satisfy the needs of its citizenry and public. New schools and other public buildings were constructed. Churches for all denominations had to be built. About the time Alice Oil Field was discovered, Alice had only about 10 churches and four schools.
The growth of a city can best be traced by the development of its public institutions and Alice is no exception in this respect. From the time of its first settlement, the history of Alice is most clearly depicted by the growth of development of the Catholic Church within the city, since, from the earliest times, the settlement was predominantly Catholic.