Gigi Starnes Historical Corpus Christi Research Papers

Collection

Identifier: Coll-273

Staff Only

This collection contains a wealth of research in the Nueces County and Corpus Christi region from the mid nineteenth century to the late twentieth century. Much of it is photocopies of primary sources, particularly the older documents. There is a lot of specific research and original writing directed towards the Dragon Grill and the Irishtown area of downtown Corpus Christi. The rest of the collection broadly covers the history of South Texas families, Hispanics, and Nueces County.

Dates

1852-1976

Creator

Starnes, Gigi (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions

Conditions Governing Use

This material is made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to taking precautions against infringement of copyright and respecting the publication rights of reproduced materials. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards. Any materials used should be fully credited with their source according to the example given in the Preferred Citation note. Requests for assistance with citations and images of publication quality should be directed to specialcollections@tamucc.edu

Extent

2 Linear Feet

Abstract

Gigi Starnes is a writer, artist, small business owner, and historian that has dedicated much of her life to researching and documenting South Texas history. This collection is centered on her research into Corpus Christi’s Dragon Grill and downtown Irishtown development.

Biographical / Historical

Gigi Starnes and her husband Carroll Lee raised their four children in Corpus Christi and Gigi joined the Nueces County Historical Society after becoming interested in local history. Gigi wrote Corpus Christi, Texas: A Picture Postcard History with Anita Eisenhauer in 1987, and Grandmother’s Tales: Storm of Darkness (Discovering Archeology) with Mark Mitchell as Illustrator in 1995.

She taught Library Skills at Annaville Elementary, owned Hall of Frame art framing shop, and after moving to San Antonio volunteered at Hertzberg Circus Museum curating exhibits. Her Husband Carroll spent two years in the Army in Korea and had a business degree from Texas A&I University – Kingsville. He worked for Humble (now Exxon), and many of the slides in this collection are from the King Ranch and Humble holdings throughout South Texas. He passed away in 2000 after retiring from a 30+ year career.

Gigi continues write, edit, and paint in her spare time, and remains interested in finding and educating others in history and its preservation.

Arrangement

This collection is organized into seven series, and two sub-series. The Series are Gigi Starnes, Dragon Grill, Irishtown, South Texas Families, Nueces County History, Hispanic Texas History, and Photographs, with Photographs having two Sub-Series. Those are Photographs and Photographs on Slides.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Gigi Starnes Historical Corpus Christi Research Papers were donated to Texas A&M University Corpus Christi by Gigi Starnes and Westley Starnes on 2020-09-27

Related Materials

Dan E. Kilgore Collection; L.H. Gross Collection regarding Corpus Christi History; Richard T, Marcum Collection regarding South Texas history

Processing Information

This collection was arranged by Eric Christensen, Librarian of Archive Processing for Texas A&M University– Corpus Christi’s Special Collections & Archives Department.