Kerr County is a picturesque dwelling located in the southern state of Texas in the United States. It is not a densely populated county and had less than 50,000 inhabitants per the last statistics available for the year 2000. Kerrville is Kerr County’s county seat. This county was named in the memory of James Kerr, by his fellow Kentucky man Joshua D Brown. Kerr was born on September 24, 1790 and died December 23, 1850. He fought hard for the establishment of the Republic of Texas. He went on to hold office as a congressman in the Republic of Texas.
James Kerr was born in Kentucky, but raised in Missouri. He held office in the Missouri House of Representatives and also served a term in the Missouri State Senate. A good part of Kerr’s life was spent as a soldier. He held the post of a major in the Texas Rangers and also served in the army of the Republic of Texas. As a politician, he became a member of the third Texas Congress in 1838. However, the later years of his life were dedicated to the practice of medicine near Houston.
Apart from his involvement in politics and in the military establishment, Kerr had an established interest in law enforcement and enablement. He acted as an attorney and surveyor and also helped broker peace between different tribal groups in the region.
Ironically, James Kerr did not live to see the establishment of the county dedicated to him. He passed away six years before Kerr County, as it is known, came into official existence in 1856. Like many of the southern states, Kerr County, is racially dominated by the Caucasian or White population, composing almost 90% of the county. The rest of the population consists of African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and other minor ethnic groups.