Corpus Christi was established as a trading post by Colonel Henry L. Kinney in 1839. When the US Army moved in for the Mexican War in 1846, it was described as a "small village of smugglers and lawless men with but few women and no ladies." In its early days, Corpus Christi grew and prospered as ranching prospered. Natural gas and oil were discovered in the early 1900s, but the city has remained a livestock and industrial center.

Corpus Christi Bay provides a landlocked harbor with a ship channel to the Gulf through Aransas Pass and Port Aransas. The bay also makes this a resort area, with fishing, swimming, and water sports.