Karnes City, TX

Karnes City is the seat of Karnes County, a planned South Texas town laid out in 1890 beside the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway and named for Texas Revolution figure Henry Wax Karnes. Voters moved the county seat here from Helena in 1894. Today U.S. 181 and State Highways 80 and 123 meet around the courthouse district, keeping the city's original central-county logic visible; San Antonio lies about 54 miles northwest along U.S. 181.

Karnes City ISD serves the town through primary, elementary, junior high, and high school campuses, and the public library and city parks add everyday civic stops. The city's Parks and Recreation Board oversees park development and maintenance, and Founders Day is set for December 12 on the city calendar. Karnes County's working geography includes farming, ranching, oil and gas, fiberglass manufacturing, retail, construction, and grain milling, so the county seat sits inside a regional production economy. Karnes City is a highway-and-courthouse town with a railroad beginning, school-centered services, and a calendar that still marks its founding.