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History
in a Seashell
Thomas
M. O'Connor was the owner of the 70,000-acre Alligator Head Ranch in Calhoun County.
In 1909 the Calhoun Cattle Company platted the townsite and two years later the
International-Great Northern Railroad came to town.
Now connected by
the railroad, people turned the town into a summer resort where it has remained
ever since.
The town later became a terminus of the St. Louis,
Brownsville and Mexico Railway. |
| | A
free lunch in Port O'Connor
TE photo |
| | Seaside
casual architecture
TE photo, 2001 |
An
ice factory made possible fish and oyster business and for some time figs were
one of the major crops. Fig Orchards Company of Port O'Connor processed the figs
for the farmers who raised them.
People could train over to Port O'Connor,
sip ice-cold drinks and have plates of Oysters in Fig Sauce.
The
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was dredged by 1939. This connected New Orleans with
Corpus Christi
and protected smaller craft from German submarines during the early years of World
War II, but didn't help the tankers that had to run the gauntlet of U-boats
through the straits of Florida. Pipelines to the East coast constructed in record
time solved the problem. |
| | | Landscaping
with Anchors 101
TE photos, 2001 |
Port
O'Connor has had its share of storms. There was no population when the storms
that made Indianola
a ghost hit the area, and the same was true for the 1900
storm. But 1919, 1942 and 1945 had storms that damaged the town. Hurricane
Carla in 1961, completely leveled downtown Port O'Connor which explains the absence
of a town center.
In 1969 the town's population exceeded 1,000 due to
employment opportunities at the nearby Matagorda Air Force Base. It later dropped
to around 800.
Port O'Connor continues to be an attraction for retirees,
fishermen and summer tourists.
Port
Lavaca Hotels > Book Your Hotel
Here & Save |
| | Another
view in Port O'Connor
TE photo, 2001 | |
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