Runge, Texas

Early Texas town. Near site where Old Ox-Cart Road from San Antonio to Indianola crossed the Ojo de Agua (Spanish name meaning "eye of water" or spring) Creek. Here pioneer travelers found essentials of water, wood, and grass. Numerous Indian artifacts found nearby indicate that Karankawas, Tonkawas, Apaches, and Comanches camped or hunted in vicinity. First Anglo-American settlement here, in early 1850s, was named Sulphur Springs; in the late 1850s and 1860s the place was called Mineral Spring. In 1886 a group of Cuero merchants known as H. Runge and Company bought a large tract of land on which they platted the townsite of Runge. The San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railroad, called the "SAP", extended its line from Kenedy toward Houston and built a depot, a switch, and stockpens at Runge. The first post office was established here September 20, 1887. By 1890 Runge had grown to be the largest town in Karnes County. The public schools were organized in 1891 and Runge citizens engaged in many typical pioneer social and civic activities, including weekly band concerts held in the town square. The economy of the region has been sustained by farming, ranching, dairying, and petroleum production.

Runge, Texas is a historical marker in Runge, Karnes County, dedicated in 1969. It is one of 26 historical markers documented in Karnes County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 45 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 28.8952, -97.7038 near Runge. The nearest cataloged historic site is Runge Bandstand (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Flaccus Black, Ruckman, John, House, and Ruckman, John, Home of.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5255004389. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.