[citation needed] The community was named for Calvin Joseph “Cal” Allen (1859—1922), a noted rancher who was born and raised about three miles up the Nueces River from the future townsite.
[1] [2] [3] In 1900 the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway, which was building southward to the Rio Grande Valley, decided to bypass the pioneer community of Nuecestown and run its tracks a few miles away.
However, when it was discovered that another town in Texas had secured that name, residents settled on Calallen, combining Allen’s nickname and surname.
[4] The main part of Calallen grew around the west side of the railroad tracks, and included a bank, lumber yard, pharmacy, funeral home, meat market and numerous general mercantile stores.
Among these were the C. E. Coleman vegetable packing sheds, which sat along the railroad tracks, the Calallen Gin, and the Ault Apiary, where bees were raised.
Familiar names in the community included Allen, Atkinson, Ault, Bickham, Harney, Hearn, Hunter, Magee, McKinzie and Noakes.
Northbound U.S. Highway 77 vehicles seeking Padre Island and Corpus Christi's southeast suburbs would also rather take FM 665 eastward at Driscoll.
After the major intersection, Interstate 37 and U.S. Highway 77 travel about 2 miles (3.2 km) north before leaving the city limits and entering San Patricio County.
While the surrounding communities in the area are generally flat in terrain, many parts of Corpus Christi is rolling due to its position on the valley of the Nueces River.