Kingsbury, Texas, city in Guadalupe County. (original) (raw)

Guadalupe County, Central Texas South

29� 38' 31" N, 97� 48' 36" W (29.641944, -97.81)

U.S. Highway 90
10 miles NE of Seguin the county seat
Part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area
ZIP code 78638
Area codes 830, 512
Population: 782 (2010) 652 (2000) 200 (1990)

Kingsbury Area Hotels › Seguin Hotels

History in a Pecan Shell

An Englishman named Sam Neel, settled in the area in the early 1870s. Five years later the town received a post office and a railroad (the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio). Named for a railroad official named William Kingsbury, the town was platted in 1876.

By the mid-1880s the population was 130 and by 1904 it was 346. Kingsbury schools merged with Seguin's in the early 1960s. Cotton was the primary economic force until oil was discovered in the 1920s.

The town reached its zenith in 1968 with 450 Kingburians, slowly declining to the 1990 estimate of 200.

The former Kingsbury Post Office in 2011
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, May 2011

"My mother lives in Cincinnati"
Photo courtesy Sarah Reveley, 2009

Kingsbury, Texas Forum

• Homage to Ray, Mama Ray and the Gut-stuffing Meals in Kingsbury
  Heading to San Antonio from my hometown of Dallas, I began to think about driving through San Marcos, the city of my alma mater (now Texas State University). One of my fondest memories back in the late 70's and early 80's was a monthly trip to Kingsbury for a Mexican food at Ray's Cafe. It would usually be a carload or two of college guys heading to our culinary Mecca for a gut-stuffing meal. I will assure anyone who cares that this was the best TexMex restaurant in the world. Ray's Cafe was run by an elderly couple and I think the man was named Ray. I think his wife, who we called Mama Ray ran the place. This was home-made peasant food at it's best. I have since eaten my way across France and Italy and would consider [the food at] Ray's Cafe worldclass. Ray would usually come out after a few beers and sing a song or two with his guitar. He had written a little ditty about Kingsbury but never seemed to get past the first verse. Anyway, I assume this place is long gone but wished to pay it the necessary homage it deserved. - Steve Davis, Dallas, October 26, 2007
• Subject: Kingsbury, Texas
  I was born in Seguin, where I now live, but I was rasied in Kingsbury. I love Kingsbury. It's small but it's also quiet and there's no loud music. You know everybody and you can walk down the street and nothing will happen to you. Only if you walk by the cemetery then you might see the ghost of an old man driving his old timey car and you have to watch out for big spiders when crossing the road. I was told the tree in front of the old post office was once used as a hanging tree.
  I now live in Seguin but I still make it back to Kingsbury because my grandma lives there. She's 75 and she has lived there the last 27 years. She told me she will die in Kingsbury and doesn't want to move to the city. I remember when my grandpa was alive he would take me outside with him to watch him weld or we might look for fossils and arrowheads from along ago. I remember walking through the pasture, just walking with my grandpa. My grandma taught me that when you get a thorn in your foot to put a piece of bacon on it and in the morning the thorn would be out. To this day I use that remedy for my five kids. My grandma has also taught me that when you are out of food, that it's okay, someone will bring you some since He is up above watching over us. My grandma is poor but if somebody needs anything, she is right there to help. - Brandy G., Seguin, September 07, 2007

I discovered that the town of Kingsbury derives its name from Dr. William Greely Kingsbury. Dr. Kingsbury worked as a dentist and purchased a large ranch in Boerne, Texas which he named (appropriately) the Molar Ranch. Dr. Kingsbury was not involved with the railroad, but he did a wonderful job promoting Texas to the British Isles and apparently was very instrumental in bringing many new settlers to the area.

The Governor of Texas recognized the wonderful efforts of Dr. Kingsbury by naming the town of Kingsbury, Texas in his honor. I have this history recorded in the book I published Kingsbury Hall: The Genealogy of a Family. - Kenneth Kingsbury, Dallas, February 14, 2007

• Request for info from Kingsbury and Seguin
  My Father's name was Francisco Navarro Verdeja and he was raised in Kingsbury, Texas in the mid 1920s... When I was a young girl he used to tell me stories about living in Kingsbury and Seguin.
  I used to think "Wow!" Living out in the open with lots of land and trees and listening to the family sing their songs on the porch. The smell of home cooking... what more could anyone ask? So young and enjoying life on the ranch - poor but yet so rich.
  When World War II began my father and all of his brothers were drafted and they wouldn't see each other for awhile. My father told me that he hadn't heard from his brothers for months - and one day his company had stopped to rest. As they were resting another company was moving out. It wasn't until later that evening my father found out that his brother Patricio was in the company that had just pulled out - and he missed seeing him by a few hours... more

Heavy Metal in Kingsbury
TE Photo, 2001

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