Our History

Driscoll was founded in 1888 on land donated by siblings Robert Driscoll Jr. and Clara Driscoll and was originally part of the famed Driscoll Ranch. A post of fice was established in 1890. Driscoll, at the junction of U.S. Highway 77 and Farm Road 665, 22 miles southwest of Corpus Christi in south central Nueces County, was establised in 1904, when the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway built south from Robstown and locatd a station on ranchland belonging to Robert Driscoll, Jr ..

Today, Driscoll’s population is at approximately 700 with racial makeup of 90% Hispanic or Latino and about 8% White (NH); 1 Black and 1 Asian. The median income for a household in the City was $34,583. The Driscoll ISD is a public school district serving students in pre kindergarten to grade 8. In previou years, the Driscoll ISD has been rated “Exemplary” by the Texas Ed ucation Agency, the highest rating given by the State.   Ninth grade to Twelveth go to Bishop High School .

Robert Driscoll, Jr. (1871- 1929)

Robert Driscoll, a lawyer, banker, rancher, and early ad vocate for the Port of Corpus Christi, was born near Victoria, Texas on October 31, 1871, the son of Robert and Julia (Fox) Driscoll. He attended · public school in Rockport and surrounding areas, and then went to Georgetown Univerity. After his father's death, he assumed control and management of the Driscoll estate with holdings including 125,000 acres in Duval, Jim Wells, · and Nueces counties.

Driscoll was extensively involved in banking and land speculations and in bringing farming to the lower Texas coastal plains. He was President of several large corporations, among them Corpus Christi National Bank, Corpus Christi Trust Company, Kingsville Prod ucing and Milling Company, and the International Refining Company of San A tonio.

He was also a director of the Frost National Bank in San Antonio, the San Antonio Joint Stock Land Bank, and the Guaranty Title Company of Corpus Christi. He was a co-incorporator of the St. Louis-Brownsville-and Mexico Railway.

Driscoll was instumental in developing the Rabb Pasture into farmland s and in founding the towns of Bishop and Robstown, the latter of which, along wit the nearby town of Driscoll, was named after the Driscoll famil y. He was Chairman of the Port of Corpus Christi from 1926 until his death in 1929. A memorial to Driscoll was erected at the Port, and his sister and only survivor, Clara Driscoll left, upon her death in 1945, the Robert Driscoll and Julia Driscoll and Robert Driscoll , Jr., Foundation, which included among its beneficiaries the Driscoll Foundation Children’s Hospital in South Texas.

Driscoll was instumental in developing the Rabb Pasture into farmland s and in founding the towns of Bishop and Robstown, the latter of which, along wit the nearby town of Driscoll, was named after the Driscoll famil y. He was Chairman of the Port of Corpus Christi from 1926 until his death in 1929. A memorial to Driscoll was erected at the Port, and his sister and only survivor, Clara Driscoll left, upon her death in 1945, the Robert Driscoll and Julia Driscoll and Robert Driscoll , Jr., Foundation, which included among its beneficiaries the Driscoll Foundation Children’s Hospital in South Texas.

She wrote: ”By the care of our eloquent but voiceless monuments, we are preparing a noble inspriation for our future”. She is best remembered for rescuing the Alamo, “the Shrine of Texas Independence “as she described it. When she died in 1945, her body lay in state at the mission’s chape, in recognition of her work to perserve it. Clara served as the Democratic Party’s National Committeewoman from Texas 1922-1938 and supported her friend John Nance Garner’s 1940 bid for the Presidency . She continued to support Franklin D Roosevelt after he was re-elected .

Driscoll  Children’s Hospital was built in 1953 and was born out of the love and compassion of the Founder, Clara Driscoll, the granddaughter of a Texas patriot . DCH was built because Clara Driscoll’s will requested that a fund be created to maintain a charitable hospital for indegent child ren. DCH changed status from charity only to not-for­ pro fit , so that it could provide care to all children in South Texas.