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 Texas : Towns A-Z / Gulf Coast : Crystal Beach

CRYSTAL BEACH, TEXAS

Galveston County, Texas Gulf Coast
Highway 87 on the Bolivar Peninsula
8 miles NE of Port Bolivar, a free ferry ride from Galveston
19 miles SW of High Island
70 miles SW of Port Arthur (via Hwy 124 and 73)

Population: 787 (2000)

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Bolivar Lighthouse, Texas, infrared photo
"Waiting for Rita"
Infra-red photography by Robert Vahle, September 2005
History in a Seashell
Now an unincorporated city, Crystal Beach was originally named Patton and was the terminus of the railroad on the Bolivar Peninsula. It is the largest community on the peninsula.
Bolivar lighthouse, Galveston, Crystal Beach, Texas
Bolivar Lighthouse - 6 miles SW of Crystal Beach near Hwy 87
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, 2005
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/

Bolivar Peninsula Attractions

  • Miles of sandy beaches
  • Birding - Spring and Fall
  • Bolivar Lighthouse - Near Hwy 87, Six miles SW of Crystal Beach
  • Fort Travis Seaside Park - 60-acre park
    Hours: 7:30AM - 9PM. 409-766-2411
  • Galveston-Port Bolivar 24 hour free ferry service
    More Texas Towns | Texas Gulf Coast | Texas | Online Magazine |

    Bolivar Peninsula Chamber of Commerce

    1760 Highway 87
    PO Box 11700
    Crystal Beach, Texas 77650
    409-684-5940, 800-386-7863
    http://www.bolivarchamber.org/

    Galveston Hotels > Book Your Hotel Here & Save
  • Bolivar Peninsula History /Stories
    Bolivar Peninsula: Scene of Slaving, Smuggling, Filibustering and Farms by W. T. Block ("Cannonball Tales" Column)
    Very few areas of Texas can claim a longer time span of written history than can that thirty-mile sliver of sand known as Bolivar Peninsula...

    Related Stories - Texas Storms:
  • The Longest Train Ride by C. F. Eckhardt
    "Train #1 of the Gulf & Interstate Railroad, which left Beaumont, Texas, at 7:00 AM on September 8, 1900, to make the run to Port Bolivar, about 85 miles away by modern highway, arrived at Port Bolivar at 11:10 AM, September 24, 1903—three years, sixteen days, and ten minutes late. Some of the original passengers were still aboard..."
  • Galveston 1900 by Mike Cox
  • The Galveston Storm by Archie P. McDonald, PhD
    The hurricane that struck Galveston on September 8, 1900, still reigns as the worst natural disaster in United States history because an estimated 10,000 people lost their lives.
  • Hurricane 1900 Cartoon by Roger T. Moore
  • Hurricane Carla by N. Ray Maxie
    She was ferocious, deadly and destructive; a Category 5 hurricane at one time, with 175 MPH winds. She slowly came ashore September 11, 1961
  • Indianola A poem by Jeff McLemore published in 1904.
  • Indianola "Queen city of the West" turned ghost town, devastated by storms
  • The Story of Indianola by Maggie Van Ostrand
  • Indianola Remnants by Mike Cox

    More Texas Towns | Texas Gulf Coast | Texas | Online Magazine |
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