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Port
Aransas Attractions include Birding
Center: Ross Avenue and Cut-off Road
Mustang
Island State Park
3500 acres of park with five miles of beach frontage.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.usPort
Aransas Museum:
361-749-3800
www.portaransasmuseum.orgPort
Aransas Nature Reserve
361-749-4111
www.cityofportaransas.org
University
of Texas Marine Science Institute: Displays of Gulf Coast flora and fauna.
Open weekdays only 8 to 12 and 1 to 5. 361-749-6806 Nearby
Destinations
Corpus
Christi to the south, Rockport
to the north.
Where to Stay
Port
Aransas Hotels |
 | | "Papa
loved to go fishing at Port Aransas" - Sarah
Reveley 1950s photo | | by
Mike Cox
[Tarpon] arguably, is the fish that spawned recreational fishing
as a Port Aransas pastime. It happened in the mid-1880s, when work began on a
set of rock jetties intended to deepen the ship channel to Corpus
Christi. When mainlanders connected with the construction project started
seeing big schools of tarpon, it occurred to some of them that catching one of
those big fish would be good sport.
Not having boats of their own, these
“jetty people” (as the locals called them) began paying island residents $1.50
to row them out for some tarpon fishing. That, according to the Port A museum
exhibit, marked the beginning of sport fishing on the Texas
coast. In addition, it was the genesis of the fishing guide business, a pop-and-sometimes-mom
industry that still brings money to this part of Texas... more
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History
in a Seashell
Port
Aransas, formerly known as Ropesville and as Tarpon, is a resort
and fishing community on Mustang Island. The settlement began as a sheep and cattle
grazing station.
The town began in 1850 by Englishman Robert A. Mercer
when he settled on St. Joseph Island. Five years later he moved to Mustang Island
and built a cabin.
The first post office was established in 1888 and
called Ropesville in honor of Elihu H. Ropes. In 1890 Ropes attempted to build
a thirty-foot channel across the island. Six years later the town name was changed
to Tarpon to advertise the fishing opportunities.
The name Port Aransas
was officially adopted in 1911.
Port Aransas had a population of only
fifty in 1925 which grew to 300 in six years.
The population can swell
during tourist season and traffic rivals that of larger Gulf
Coast cities.
Where to Stay
Port
Aransas Hotels |
Tarpon
Inn in the 1920s
Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Historical
Marker
200 East Cotter Avenue, Port Aransas
Tarpon
Inn
In 1886
Frank Stephenson, a boat pilot and assistant Aransas lighthouse keeper, opened
an inn at this site in an old barracks. He called the facility "Tarpon Inn" for
the abundant trophy fish in nearby gulf waters. The Inn served as a landmark for
sailors, and Port Aransas was known for a time as "Tarpon".
In
1897 Mary Cotter and her son J.E. Bought the two story inn from Stephenson. After
the building burned in 1900, two new structures were built in 1904. When the 1919
hurricane destroyed the main structure, the dining facility was used until it
was sold in 1923 to James M. Ellis and his wife. Ellis soon rebuilt this inn to
resemble the old barracks. He placed 20-foot poles in 16 feet of concrete with
pilings at the corner of each room to reinforce it against future hurricanes.
For a time guests could reach the inn only by boat. It became a tradition to sign
and date a Tarpon scale and place it on the wall in the front room. Among the
famous patrons was president Franklin D. Roosevelt who fished here in 1937. Duncan
Hines spent his honeymoon here and recommended the food for the next 25 years.
The inn has housed many area residents during storms and served as headquarters
for the Red Cross, Salvation Army and Military units.
1979 |
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Tarpon
Inn in the 1940s
Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
A
mosquito hawk at Paradise Pond in Port Aransas
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine, 2006 |
Barney's,
Port Aransas
Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Port Aransas, Texas Forum |
Subject:
Fishing in Port
Aransas
Papa loved to go fishing at Port Aransas. To this day, the
ferry at Port Aransas brings joy to my heart. My brother got to go fishing and
I had to settle for walking on the shore looking for shells with Mamma, wearing
a big white shirt of Papa's with white gunk on my nose. Anyway here is Papa and
his catch, probably around 1950. What a thrill that was, isn't that a tarpon?
He always had white gunk on his nose, he must have wiped it off for the picture.
Here's Mamma, too. We always drove down in her jeep. Papa didn't want to get his
Buick Special dirty.
Port Aransas is very dear to me. Thanks for the memories.
- Sarah
Reveley, March 19, 2011 |
"Walking
on the shore looking for shells with Mamma"
- Sarah
Reveley, 1950s photo |
| "Here's
Mamma. We always drove down in her jeep. Papa didn't want to get his Buick Special
dirty." - Sarah
Reveley, 1950s photo |
Subject:
Port Aransas
Dear TE, In looking at your great site, I came across the [page] on Port Aransas,
Texas.
Since
I was a small child my parents made it a point for to take us to Port Aransas
for two weeks during our yearly summer vacation. I am now 73 years old and up
until about 5 or 6 years ago I had made it a point to enjoy a few days at Port
Aransas nearly every year.
As a child the feeling of joy and elation
never failed to come over me at the first sight of the rolling waves at the beach.
That feeling has stayed with me all these years. My dad was an avid fisherman
and we lived on a dry land farm near Ballinger,
Texas. He and my mother had five kids of their own and raised two other's
who had lost their parents. However, by the time that I came along the only other
child left at home was my brother who was just older than me. We enjoyed the fishing
and romping on the beach and in those rolling waves.
On one occasion,
my oldest sister joined us on our trip. She was about 25 and was very confident
of her svelte figure. She came out with a chartreuse green strapless bathing suit
and joined me in the surf for fun. The waves were strong that day and we were
playing in the roughest of them. An unusually big wave came over us and when my
sister came out of it she was topless. I can still recall the look of pure horror
on her face and since the wave was gone-by, there was no water to plunge herself
into until the next wave came along. Needless to add, I laughed until I hurt.
Over the years this treasured vacation spot has changed so much. I recall
back in the early 1940's that the motels where we stayed were very plain with
only the necessities provided. Later we stayed at the Gulf Shores Motel, Seagull
Motel and Lone Palm, as well as others. Now there are luxery motels in great numbers
all over the island. There were lots of people who vacationed there during the
early years but now it is swamped with vacationers.
When I was about
10 years old (about 1944) I went to the movies on some evenings. The movie house
was a tile brick building with no roof. Amazed me! Then when I was nine years
old we went on a deep sea fishing trip. When we started fishing the captain of
the boat strapped me and that huge rod and reel into my seat. " Hey", I thought
-" I'm nine years old and have been fishing since I was five! I know how to fish
with a rod and reel!!" I want to tell you that when that first King fish took
the bait, I was delighted to be strapped in the chair and more than happy to have
the fishing reel tied down as well. I caught 5 Kingfish that were so long their
tails hung over the side of the barrel that they were dropped into, head first.
My dad only caught four of these giant fish and I never let him forget that "I
out-fished him." I was so attached to Port Aransas that just seeing those little
signs along the roadway, across the state, "Port Aransas - Where they bite everyday!"
would cause me to long to go back there.
The fish seem to have abandoned
the Gulf around Port Aransas. The last few times that we have gone there and fished
our luck has been pretty bad. We caught fish alright, but not those really good
eating fish. Others may like the shark, red tuna, Yellow Jack and such but I had
rather not eat those fish. I have been shocked that even the "Hard Head's" (rough
catfish) are now a protected species because their numbers are so few.
I do hope to make it to Port Aransas one more time, before I join my parents and
siblings on that big fishing trip in the sky. - Rosemary Bradley Davis, San
Angelo, Texas, July 14, 2007
Subject:
Port Aransas
Dear TE, This may not be important but it left quite an impression
on me. I visited Port Aransas years ago and drove onto the ferry that takes your
car across the channel. There were dolphins jumping on both sides of the front
of the ferry and it made a stunning view. It would make a great photo. I tell
this to all my friends and apologize that I have no photos to share. I just couldn't
help but remember that when I came across your information on Port Aransas. Anyway,
just a little side note. By the way, just by luck I came across your magazine.
My jaw dropped when I found it and can't believe the fantastic information. Good
job!!! - Beverly Santos, June 07, 2007
Where
to Stay
Port
Aransas Hotels |
| The Aransas
Ferry (post-marked 1965) | Port
Aransas Tourist InformationPort
Aransas Chamber of Commerce /Tourist & Convention Bureau
421 W. Cotter Port
Aransas, Texas 78373
(361) 749-5919
1-800-45-COAST
Website : www.portaransas.org
|
1940s
Nueces County Map
Courtesy Texas General Land Office |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, and vintage/historic
photos of their town, please contact
us. | |
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