The History of Kerens, Texas
Kerens sits in eastern Navarro County, about fourteen miles east of Corsicana, on the rolling blackland prairie of North Central Texas. Its story runs from a railroad townsite carved out of the prairie in 1881 to a cotton-trading center that became, improbably, the birthplace of one of Texas's most famous icons — Big Tex.
Here's how Kerens came to be.
A Town the Railroad Made
Kerens owes its existence to the railroad. In 1881 the Texas & St. Louis Railway built its narrow-gauge line through Navarro County and surveyed a 270-acre townsite, and the new town was named for Judge Richard C. Kerens of St. Louis, a railroad official who, by all accounts, never saw the place that bears his name. The line later became standard gauge and, in 1891, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway.
The railroad bypassed the older nearby settlement of Wadeville, and within a short time the businesses there simply packed up and moved to the new town. Two Corsicana attorneys, Samuel R. Frost and Bryan F. Barry, bought the plat and offered lots for sale in 1881 and 1882. A post office opened in 1882, and Kerens was incorporated in 1888 with W. P. Noble as its first mayor.
Cotton, Gins, and Growth
Like much of the rich blackland country around it, Kerens grew up on cotton. By the mid-1890s the town supported three cotton gin-mills, four grocery stores, two hotels, two drug stores, a wagonmaker, and a weekly newspaper called the Navarro Blade. The estimated population in 1896 was about 500.
Through the early twentieth century the town kept growing as a farming and shipping center for the surrounding prairie. Kerens reached its peak of roughly 1,800 residents in 1929, then settled back over the following decades — to around 1,287 by 1950 — as farming mechanized and rural Texas thinned out. Even so, the town held on, anchored by its schools, its churches, and the farm country around it.
The Birthplace of Big Tex
Kerens's most famous claim has nothing to do with cotton. In 1949 the town's chamber of commerce manager, Howell Brister, dreamed up a way to draw holiday shoppers: a 49-foot Santa Claus built from iron drill casing, papier-mache, and unraveled rope, the self-proclaimed 'World's Largest Santa Claus.' It stood over Colket Avenue for two holiday seasons and drew press attention from as far away as Iran and Australia.
When the novelty wore off, Kerens put the giant Santa up for sale. In 1951 State Fair of Texas president R. L. Thornton bought its components for $750 and had artist Jack Bridges remake the figure into a denim-clad cowboy. Big Tex debuted at the 1952 State Fair in Dallas — and Kerens has proudly called itself the 'Birthplace of Big Tex' ever since. Today it remains a small, friendly Navarro County town, home of the Kerens Bobcats, near the waters of Richland-Chambers Reservoir.
Timeline
1881
The Texas & St. Louis Railway builds through Navarro County and surveys a 270-acre townsite named for Judge R. C. Kerens of St. Louis.
1882
A post office opens; businesses from the bypassed settlement of Wadeville relocate to the new town.
1888
Kerens is incorporated, with W. P. Noble as its first mayor.
1896
The town has three cotton gins, hotels, stores, and the Navarro Blade newspaper, with about 500 residents.
1929
Kerens reaches its peak population of roughly 1,800.
1949–1951
Howell Brister builds a 49-foot Santa over Colket Avenue; in 1951 the State Fair buys it for $750 and remakes it into Big Tex.
Notable People
Richard C. Kerens (1842–1918)
The St. Louis railroad official and financier for whom the town is named. He was associated with the railway that platted Kerens in 1881, though he is said never to have visited the town itself.
Howell Brister
The Kerens chamber of commerce manager who, in 1949, conceived the 49-foot 'World's Largest Santa Claus' that was later sold to the State Fair of Texas and remade into Big Tex.
FAQ: History of Kerens
Kerens is named for Judge Richard C. Kerens of St. Louis, an official of the railroad that platted the town in 1881. The town was surveyed as a 270-acre townsite when the Texas & St. Louis Railway built through Navarro County, though Kerens himself is said never to have seen it.
Kerens was founded in 1881 when the railroad built through eastern Navarro County and surveyed a townsite. A post office opened in 1882, and the town was formally incorporated in 1888 with W. P. Noble as its first mayor.
In 1949 Kerens built a 49-foot 'World's Largest Santa Claus' to draw holiday shoppers. After two seasons the town sold it, and in 1951 the State Fair of Texas bought its parts for $750 and remade the figure into Big Tex, who debuted at the 1952 fair in Dallas.
Kerens grew up as a cotton-farming and shipping town on the rich blackland prairie of Navarro County. By the mid-1890s it had three cotton gin-mills along with stores, hotels, and a newspaper, and farming anchored the local economy for generations.
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