|
|
SURFSIDE
BEACH, TEXAS
AKA Surfside
Brazoria County,
Texas Gulf Coast
On the Gulf of Mexico at the end of Highway 332
7 Miles E of Freeport
19 Miles SE of Angleton
Population: 763 (2000)
|
| Photo
courtesy Ken Rudine, July 2007 |
History in
a Seashell
Besides being the mouth of the lengthy Brazos River, Surfside also
surrounds the former limits of what was Velasco. Prior to the
Great
Storm of 1900, Surfside was a very popular resort of inland Texans
who needed to cool off during the summer months. The Surfside Hotel
- one of the largest and grandest of the resort hotels survided the
hurricanes but eventually burned to the ground. Surfside remained
mostly a beach until WWII when it was included in the newly designated
"Brazosport Industrial Complex."
From a 1950s population of 1,208, it reached its high-water mark in
the 1970s with a population of 2,300. The town incorporated under
the name Surfside in 1975 but was renamed Surfside Beach
in the late 1980s. By the late 80s the population had shrunk to a
mere 604. The town still appears on the state map with a 2007 population
given as 763. |
| Photo
courtesy Ken Rudine, July 2007 |
| Photo
courtesy Ken Rudine, July 2007 |
| Photo
courtesy Ken Rudine, July 2007 |
| Photo
courtesy Ken Rudine, July 2007 |
|
|
