 The first trading post on Corpus Christi Bay was established by Henry Kinney in 1838 in present @-@ day Corpus Christi . By the 1840s , the area developed into a settlement named after the bay , and a deepwater port was established in the 1870s . A <unk> that included a 32 @-@ foot overlooking statue of Jesus Christ was designed by Mount <unk> sculptor <unk> <unk> in 1928 , but was turned down by the city in 1930 . Later efforts to build a statue on the shore were also rejected . The <unk> port would later grow into a major city , and had a population of 277 @,@ 454 people during the 2000 U.S. census . In addition to Corpus Christi , Kinney also found <unk> ( known to settlers as The <unk> ) in 1852 , near the confluence of the Nueces River and Nueces Bay . The town was attacked by Mexican robbers in 1875 , and underwent a steep decline . It is now a ghost town located in the Corpus Christi city limits . The city of Ingleside was founded on the northern shore of the bay in 1854 , and grew slowly . It had a population of 9 @,@ <unk> in the 2000 census . Likewise , the city of Portland located on the northeastern bluff between the Nueces and Corpus Christi Bays , did not grow as rapidly as Corpus Christi , following its 1891 founding . During the 2000 census , it had 14 @,@ <unk> residents . 
