Corpus Christi During the Twenties

On Sunday September 14, 1919 a hurricane hit the bay of Corpus Christi. North Beach was swept away and our beloved downtown was demolished, leaving 15 foot piles of debris. Not only did trash from other places wash up on the shore; naked, oil covered bodies did as well. It was a devastating sight and experience for those who survived. There was soon a Civic Fundraising campaign to try and fix the city and in the first three hours it went from $10,000 to $15,000 because $9,000 had been pledged during that time.The money that was raised went to rebuilding what was destroyed and also led to the Break Water, the port, and the Sea Wall. These investments caused tourists to come in which brought more money. Corpus Christi spent the twenties trying to rebuild from the storm, but if it were not for the hurricane then Corpus would not be how it is today.




 The twenties was also when prohibition started. The country went dry on January 16, 1920, but for Corpus it started in 1916. Prohibition in Corpus was voted when a campaign split the town into two sides, one prohibition and second anti-prohibition. The split was so dramatic that people went as far as sending their kids to school wearing either a red or white ribbon to show of they were for prohibition or not. Merchants were even boycotted because of the side that they chose to be on. This campaign started when a traveling evangelist, the reverend Mardecai Ham, preached about the evils of "Demon Rum", an obvious prohibitionist. Running against him, and representing anti-prohibition was the Mayor, Roy Miller and Judge, Walter Timon, who were well respected by the people. But in the end prohibition won the campaign, although this was not enough to keep the people from having their alcohol. Welding shops began to make portable copper stills to make alcohol but were easy to hide, set up, and be moved. People would also get alcohol smuggled in to the U.S by "Tequileros" or "Moon Shiners" from Mexico.