Kerens

History

Kerens was established in 1881 when the St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas was built through the county, according to the Texas Handbook of History, and was named for Judge Richard C. Kerens of St. Louis. The railroad bypassed the nearby settlement of Wadeville, and within a short time all of the businesses from Wadeville moved to the new town. By the mid-1890s, the handbook said, the town had three cotton gin-mills, four grocery stores, two hotels, two drug stores, a wagonmaker, and a weekly newspaper named the Navarro Blade. Big Tex, the giant icon of the State Fair of Texas, had his beginnings in Kerens. In 1949, residents built a Santa Claus constructed from iron drill casing and papier mache to help encourage holiday sales. In 1951, State Fair president R. L. Thornton purchased Santa's components for $750 and had Dallas artist Jack Bridges transform them into a cowboy for the annual fair.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,385
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  1,933
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,620
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  1,618
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,616
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,478
• Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

  Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,404
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,292

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2026-06-04
  7 km NE of Marquez, Texas
• M 3.4 — 2026-06-04
  8 km ENE of Marquez, Texas
• M 3.1 — 2024-05-01
  7 km SSW of Mansfield, Texas
• M 3.2 — 2024-05-01
  7 km S of Mansfield, Texas
• M 3.2 — 2019-10-01
  8 km SSW of Mansfield, Texas
• M 3.4 — 2018-05-19
  8 km NW of Venus, Texas