DYNASTIES AND DRAMA

Sarita, established in 1904 and named for the daughter of ranching magnate and entrepreneur John G. Kenedy, served as center for the Kenedy Ranch and the Kenedy Pasture Company. Kenedy founded Sarita's post office the same year, housing it in his company store where in 1907 he installed the town's only phone line, running it from the store six miles to the Kenedy Ranch headquarters. Kenedy, like his father Mifflin Kenedy (business partner to Richard King of the King Ranch dynasty) was a remarkably successful Texan, increasing a family fortune that would eventually pass on to his daughter and the town's namesake. Sarita, a devout Catholic like her grandmother and Mifflin Kenedy's wife Petra Vela de Vidal, donated much of the family fortune to charities, including the foundation that operates the town's Kenedy Ranch Museum.

The Kenedy Ranch Museum, located in Sarita's 1927 Kenedy Ranch headquarters, illustrates the entire Mifflin Kenedy family legacy in art and artifacts. Another artful experience can be had at the 1916 Kenedy County Courthouse, restored inside and out by the County and rededicated in 2010. Arrive MondayâFriday anytime between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and you are welcome to come inside. Restorations usually lead to unexpected discoveries and this one was no exception. Decorative pieces of ornately patterned carpeting were found in the bottom of two metal safes, one located in the Judges' office. Analysis determined them to be pieces of the original carpet so the county had the pattern reproduced and the Judge and courtroom participants walk on it today. The building's transformation also included removing a non-original white stucco covering to restore the elegant red brick façade.