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SABINE PASS:
The Town, Battlefield and Cemetery
Jefferson County,
Texas Gulf Coast
Highway 87
A Post-Hurricane Rita Update
guided by SE Texas and SW Louisiana Historian W. T. Block
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An outbound
shrimpboat passes an incoming tanker on the Sabine River estuary
which connects Sabine Lake with the Gulf of Mexico.
TE
Photo March 2007
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a beautiful Spring day after a heavy downpour, TE photographic contributor
Ken Rudine and the current TE editor decided to visit author, historian
and columnist W.T. "Cannonball" Block at his home in Nederland. Mr.
Block was kind enough to guide us to the Sabine Pass Cemetery (which
we had missed during our Pre-Hurricane Rita visit in 2003) so that
we might get a photo of the marker erected to Kate Dorman. Mr. Block
had been instrumental in having the official marker installed - as
well as manually punching out aluminum plaques for many of the unmarked
graves in the cemetery. The cemetery, which had been unkept for years,
had a new THC marker erected recently and now receives a yearly cleaning
by county workers and volunteers. |
Getting There
To
get to Sabine Pass, you would head south from Beaumont
on Highways 89/96/ 287. After passing numerous prisons and the site
of Spindletop
on your right, you'll pass the Nederland exits and come to the intersection
with highway 87. Take a right and drive until it intersects with highway
82. To the south you'll see the easy-to-spot MLK
Bridge. Turn right here on highway 82 and this will take you into
Sabine Pass. Turning left would take you to downtown Port
Arthur. Long before you come to Sabine Pass, you'll start noticing
torn and twisted debris with an occasional stranded boat on the horizon.
As you enter Sabine Pass, you can see that a lot of debris has been
removed - based on the numerous bare foundations and empty posts that
once held signs.
Bert Karrer-Lions Park
At
the main intersection, a small park is to your left (look for the
old lighthouse lantern and watchroom) and the cemetery is about
a quarter of a mile to the right - on the south side of the road. |
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The Sabine
Bank Lighthouse lantern in Bert Karrer-Lions Park
The
still-functioning lens is on display in a Port Arthur Museum
TE photo, March 2007
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Sabine Bank
Lighthouse Marker
Click on image to enlarge text. TE photo, March 2007 |
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the way to the cemetery (also on the south side of the road) you will
see the granite marker erected by the Texas Division of the United
Daughters of the Confederacy to commemorate
Dick Dowling's lopsided defeat of the invading Union gunships
in 1863. |
Dick
Dowling Marker near Sabine Pass Cemetery after a downpour
TE photo, March 2007 |
The
Sabine Pass Cemetery
The
Sabine Pass Cemetery is just to the west of the town's main intersection
while the battleground is several miles south.
The cemetery, which is still in use, has a deep and wide vacant
spot in the middle. Although there are no tombstones, Mr. Block informed
us that an estimated 100-150 people are buried in several mass graves
here - hastily dug during a Yellow Fever epidemic.
The area abounds in wildlife and during our visit Ken Rudine, who
is an avid birder, identified a large flock of white and black Egyptian
Ibis that were wading in large puddles looking for food. |
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According to
the historical marker, the cemetery contains the remains of both Confederate
and (at least two) Union soldiers as well as veterans of the War of
1812, the War for Texas Independence and the reason for our visit,
the final resting place of Kate
Dorman, the "heroine of Sabine Pass."
Among the Yellow Fever victims and fallen soldiers, there also the
remains of a young man who died in 1901 as a result of of shooting
into a pit of unexploded ordnance left in an abandoned gun emplacement.
His remains were covered and a cenotaph placed in Port Arthur's Evergreen
Cemetery.
While the cemetery isn't fenced in black iron or rich with funereal
statuary, it's a memorable cemetery to visit for its typical coastal
flora and fauna - and for its somber timelessness.
Sabine Pass
Cemetery - more images |
Another view
of the Sabine River Estuary at Battlefield Park
TE photo, July 2003 |
Rita was Here.
Barnacles had time to form on this once partially submerged shrimpboat.
(On the way to Sabine Pass Battlefield)
TE photo, March 2007 |
Sabine
Pass Battleground State Park and Historic Site
To
get to the battleground park, return to the intersection and go right
on 3322. This road follows the Sabine River estuary and is plied by
ships entering Port Arthur, the gas terminals and refineries or the
Neches River which passes alongside downtown Beaumont. Damage from
Rita is evident in many forms - including the barnacles on this shrimpboat
(above).
The battleground boat ramp and parking lot is open although most of
the visitor's area (including Dick Dowling's statue) is currently
surrounded by ugly flexible orange construction fencing. The status
of the once-numerous historical markers is not known. The thing least
affected by the storm is the grouping of WWII era ammunition bunkers.
The road south from the Battlefield is a potholed unpaved road that
eventually reaches the site of Sabine City, a ghost town that once
had a railroad connection. The decommissioned Sabine Pass Lighthouse
(on the Louisiana side) is visible access the marshes and the faded
paint and weathered cement give it a watercolor effect. A painting
of the lighthouse in better days is hanging in the Museum of the Gulf
Coast in Port Arthur. (See
Sabine Pass Battleground State Park) |
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| The old lighthouse
on the Louisiana side of the channel is visible from just south of
the SPBP&HS TE Photo March 2007 |
If
you're planning a visit to Sabine Pass, you might consider waiting
awhile. Highway 87 between Sabine Pass and High
Island has been shown on TxDoT maps as "temporarily" closed since
1989. Mr. Block corrected our guess that the damaging storm was Carla.
Specifiaclly it was damaged in August of 1989 by a "very small"
storm named Chantille, repaved shortly after and then damaged heavily
by Hurricane Jerry in October of that same year.
Our visit had the best guide imaginable and a bird expert to boot.
Even in the current state, it's a drive worth taking for a picnic
or ship or lighthouse-spotting.
See what you can and try to squeeze in a visit to the first-class
museum in downtown Port Arthur.
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Sabine
Pass, The Town
One of the Eight Corners of Texas
Jefferson County,
Texas Gulf Coast
Highway 87
30 miles SE of Beaumont
13 miles from Port Arthur
Population: 1,500 in 1984 – now included in the Port
Arthur census. |
History in a Pecan Shell
The town dates from 1836. The town’s future as a major port
once seemed very promising.
The post office was granted in 1846 and the town was incorporated
just before the Civil War. Fort Sabine and Fort Griffin were constructed
nearby to prevent Union incursions into East Texas.
Yellow fever in 1862 caused an exodus of locals, but prevented the
Union Army from occupying the town. The battle of Sabine Pass in 1863
was one of the most lopsided victories of the entire war. It made
a hero of Houston saloonkeeper Richard
Dowling and his victory left him with a bronze
statue at the battleground and a marble
statue (and a street named after him) in Houston.
Dowling’s niece, who was held in high regard by Texas society –
was buried in the State
Cemetery in Austin, although her father rests in Houston's St.
Vincent's Cemetery.
The 1880 population was 460 people - making Sabine Pass Jefferson
County’s second city.
The Sabine and East Texas Railroad that appeared in 1881 replaced
a prewar line that had been abandoned. |
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"1886
Hurricane at Sabine Pass" Marker
Click on image to enlarge text. TE photo, March 2007 |
The towns limitless
future was dimmed when a hurricane in 1886 destroyed the town and
killed 86 residents. Storms struck again in 1900 and 1915.
In the late 1800s, The Kountze brothers, who owned vast acreage in
Jefferson County, refused to negotiate with developer Arthur Stilwell.
Stilwell decided to pour his money and energy into Port Arthur instead.
As Beaumont, Orange
and Port Arthur grew - Sabine
Pass traded its promising potential for guaranteed tranquility.
The 1900 population was a mere 363 people.
Port Arthur eventually annexed
the town in 1978, although the town maintains an entirely separate
identity.
See
The Sabine
Cemetery
Sabine
Pass Battleground State Park and Historic Site
Book Your Hotel Here &
Save
Port
Arthur Hotels >
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An ante-bellum
house, said to be the Pass' oldest home, undergoes repair. It has
weathered worse storms than Rita. TE
Photo 3-2007
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Sam Houston makes up part of a larger sculpture in the city park.
TE Photo, 7-2003 |
Sabine Pass
History
Catherine
Magill Dorman: Confederate Heroine of Sabine Pass by
W.T. Block, Jr.
Around Labor Day of each year, as Sabine Pass prepares to celebrate
its Confederate holiday, Jefferson County citizens hear much about
the 47 Irish defenders of the seaport city. Scrappy Kate Dorman
is by no means as well-known as Lt. Dick Dowling, but to those Federal
troops who had occasion to meet her, she left an indelible imprint
on their memories... more
Remembering
Sabine Pass by Stan Weeber, Ph.D.
Even if people forget that Hurricane Rita made landfall near Sabine
Pass, Texas in September of 2005 – and they probably will – history
still provides much to remember about this small town that is the
southeastern most place in the state of Texas.... more
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Port Arthur
Tourists Information
The Port Arthur
Chamber of Commerce
4749 Twin City Hwy, Suite 300
Port Arthur, TX 77642
(409) 963-1107
The Port Arthur Convention & Visitor's Bureau
3401 Cultural Center Drive Port Arthur, TX 77642
1-800-235-7822
Website - http://www.portarthurtexas.com/
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Sabine Pass
Texas Forum
Anyone wishing
to share vintage photos, travel or history of Sabine Pass, Texas -
please contact
us
Copyright John Troesser |
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