Riviera: History and Nature

Riviera combines an unusually tangible local history with nature and fishing. A marsh with overwintering soras and a 400-foot public fishing pier offer concrete starting points for planning your trip. The town’s history also includes an archaeological burial site and a railroad line completed in 1904. When choosing your vacation rental, you can weigh cultural history, birdwatching, and fishing as different priorities.

Plan Nature and Activities

The Kingsville Loop Route heads west on FM 771 back to Riviera, then continues 0.1 miles north on US 77 to the Louise Trant Bird Sanctuary. This sequence of roads provides a clear route to the sanctuary. Check current conditions before your visit.

The Louise Trant Bird Sanctuary is a marsh maintained by the Audubon Outdoor Club of Corpus Christi. Soras overwinter in its pond. You can look for them there in winter, but they may not be visible on every visit.

Near Riviera, Kaufer-Hubert Memorial County Park covers 100 acres of tidal mudflats and salt marshes. Riviera Beach Park has a 400-foot public fishing pier. If fishing is part of your plans, check the current conditions at the pier before your visit. The Baffin Bay Convenience Store in Riviera sells fishing, boating, and outdoor supplies, along with other gear for fishing and coastal activities. If you need something specific, check what is currently available.

Traces of Local History

Riviera Cemetery was designated a Texas Historic Cemetery on June 13, 2006. The burial site known as Indian Burial Ground (Dietz Archeological Site) was once used by the Karankawa. Archaeological excavations at the site recovered more than 20 skeletons in 1927 and later.

Part of the Riviera Historical Museum is housed in a 1910 bank building. The museum displays newspaper clippings, photographs, and artifacts, as well as information about ancestors. Its exhibits also include some of the tools used to build the King's Inn restaurant. Cottle and Alta Faye Ware bought the restaurant in 1945; it was later named King's Inn. The tools in the museum thus connect the collection to the restaurant’s history.

Riviera was named because the area reminded Theodore F. Koch of the south coast of France. The town’s layout also reflects the time when it was established: it was built beside the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway, whose line was completed in 1904. The town’s name preserves a personal memory of a landscape, while the railroad provides a specific historical connection to Riviera’s founding.

The time of year may matter when choosing your vacation rental: birdwatching at the pond has a clear winter connection, since soras overwinter there, while the railroad, excavation, and cemetery history point to different historical dates: 1904, 1927, and 2006. If birdwatching is important to you, take its seasonal nature into account without assuming you are certain to see a bird.

Discover more destinations: Kingsville.

Back to the main travel overview: Kleberg.