Bishop

Bishop, at the junction of U.S. Highway 77, State Loop 428 and Farm Road 70 in extreme southwestern Nueces County, was originally on the Driscoll Ranch and was called Julia Siding. In 1910 F. Z. Bishop, a Corpus Christi insurance agent, bought a large parcel of land at the site and established a town. Before the first lots were put on sale on May 30, 1910, the town was laid out with a complete modern sewage system, eight miles of graded streets, and two miles of cement sidewalks. A $35,000 electric light and water plant was established, and a telephone system was installed. A hotel and several residences were erected, and a $16,000 store and office building was opened. In September 1910, when the first school opened in a three-room frame building, sixteen children were enrolled. Enrollment increased to sixty by the end of the term.