Hunt, TX (Kerr County)

Hunt is at the junction of the north and south forks of the Guadalupe River, twelve miles west of Kerrville in central Kerr County. The area was settled in the late 1850s by people moving west from Kerrville up the Guadalupe River valley in search of available farm and ranch land. The vicinity's first post office, called Japonica, was opened three miles north in 1880 and provided service until 1918. C. Y. Davis served as its first postmaster. In 1913 another post office, called Hunt, was opened at the forks of the river and named for R. F. Hunt, who owned the land on which the post office and accompanying store were built. Since the 1920s Hunt has served as the center of one of the most popular Hill Country resort areas. The majority of Kerr County's guest ranches and summer camps are located within a few miles of the town; its economy depends on these visitors and on the part-time residents who own the many vacation homes lining the river. In 1974 the population of Hunt was estimated at 700. In 1990 it was 708. The population remained the same in 2000.