In the early 1900s many of Kenedy's gunfighter shootings caused the town to be nicknamed "Six Shooter Junction".

[6] During World War II, the Kenedy Allen Detention Camp was located near the outskirts of the town, on a former Civilian Conservation Corps site.

Though it later served as a prisoner of war camp, it started as an internment camp for people of German, Italian, and Japanese ancestry deported from Latin America, as well as some who were long-term residents of the U.S.[6][7] The camp opened in April 1942, when the first group of Latin American deportees arrived: 456 Germans, 156 Japanese and 14 Italians.

[7] Despite State Department prisoner exchanges, in which German and Japanese Latin Americans were "repatriated" and traded for U.S. citizens in Axis custody, Kenedy's population swelled to 2,007 by October 1943: 1,168 Germans, 705 Japanese, 72 Italians, and 62 "miscellaneous".

[7] The John B. Connally Unit, a state prison, is located 2 miles (3 km) south of the city limits.

On July 24, 2019, the Karnes Countywide Newspaper featured a story on a Kenedy house with ties to a world famous San Antonio landmark.

[5] As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,473 people, 1,231 households, and 786 families residing in the city.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.