The region that is now called Kerr County has had a history of human habitation for thousands of years. Archaeological studies show that human beings would have walked on this terrain as far back as 6,000 to 10,000 years ago.
However, evidence of the Kerr County region becoming a part of the civilized world is available only around the time of the Spanish exploration of the 17th century. The Guadalupe River – key to the growth of human habitation in this region – was discovered and named by Spanish explorer Alonso De Leon. He also discovered good quality timber along the river banks.
Around the middle of the 19th century, Joshua D. Brown set up a new industry to make cypress shingles as the region had ample availability of cypress trees. Over the next few years, German millers Christian Dietert and Bathasar Lich opened large grist and saw mill on a bluff adjoining the Guadalupe River. Subsequently, the extensive ventures of Charles Schreiner and his family led to the growth and development of banking, retail, marketing, brokering, wholesale, and ranching operations.
During the Civil War business and industry took a backseat. However, post-Reconstruction, Kerr County, and especially Kerrville, began to prosper. Demand for timber, ranch produce, and skilled workers gave a big push to the region’s economy. Windmills and barbed wires also began to be introduced. There was a big boom in cattle, goat, and sheep ranches established by families living in Kerr County.
A big step in the business growth of the region was the coming of the first railways in 1887, followed by water supplies, telephone service and road construction. The region also survived the Great Depression far better than many others.
Once the millennium generation came around most businesses started exploring other methods of mechanical business applications. The invention of the internet only progressed business and Kerr County was able to retrain employees using onlinembarankings.com and expanding the business outside the county. Currently, Kerrville’s economic base spans agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, tourism and others. The Wall Street Journal in the mid-1990s described Kerrville as one of the wealthiest towns of the US.