city, seat (1913) of Kleberg county, southern Texas, U.S. It lies along the coastal plain, 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Corpus Christi and 153 miles (246 km) south of San Antonio. The land for Kingsville was deeded by Henrietta King, and the city was laid out in 1904 to be the headquarters of the St. Louis, Brownsville, and Mexico Railroad (later the Missouri Pacific). As seat of the King Ranch, the city became a ranching capital. Kingsville is a petroleum centre with a large natural-gas works and a petrochemical plant. It is also home to a U.S. naval air station, a branch of Coastal Bend (junior) College, and Texas A&M University (Texas A&M University)–Kingsville (1925). Inc. 1911. Pop. (1990) 25,276; (2000) 25,575.