Port Isabel is on the point where Texas Highway 100 meets the
Laguna Madre in southeastern Cameron County, sixteen miles northeast of Brownsville.
It is connected to South Padre Island by the two-mile-long Queen Isabella Causeway
(Park Road 100). The first settlement in the area, Brazos Santiago, was on nearby
Brazos Island. In 1788 water sellers traveled to the area to obtain water. The
site was also used as a summer resort by 1800. Jean Laffiteqv is said to have
had a fifteen-foot well dug near the site of present Laguna Vista, five miles
northwest of Port Isabel. Official claim to the land was not made until 1828,
when it was granted to Rafael García as part of the Potrero ("Pasture") de Santa
Isabel. During the 1830s a small community developed at the site, known as El
Frontón de Santa Isabel. Later that name was changed to Punta de Santa Isabel,
that is, Point Isabel. A post office was established in the community under
the name Point Isabel in June 1845. The name of the post office and community
were changed to Brazos Santiago in 1849, when the Oblates of Mary Immaculateqv
arrived in the community and established Our Lady by the Sea Church. Also that
year the community suffered an outbreak of cholera, and it was several years
before it recovered fully. In 1850 Port Isabel was the second largest town in
the area, which by 1859 was exporting $10 million dollars worth of cotton annually.
The Port Isabel Lighthouse was built in 1853 at a cost of $7,000; it served
as a lookout during the conflict with Juan M. Cortinaqv known as the Cortina
War. During the first three years of the Civil Warqv Port Isabel was known as
a haven for blockade runners due to its proximity to Mexico. All the ships in
the harbor were destroyed or captured during a Union attack on May 30, 1863.
The first railway in the area was the Rio Grande Valley Railway, a narrow-gauge
line connecting Port Isabel to Brownsville, funded and built by Simón Celaya
of Brownsville, which began operation in 1872. The name of the post office was
changed from Brazos Santiago to Isabel in 1881.
The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway,qv completed during the 1950s,
increased trade and improved the economic health of Port Isabel, but it also
caused problems. A spoil bank from its construction polluted the community,
and the city's board sought the assistance of the United States government to
solve the dust problem. The Queen Isabella Causeway, with a swing bridge across
the ship channel between Port Isabel and South Padre Island, was completed in
February 1954 at a cost of $2.2 million. The causeway drew tourists to the area.
The Naval Auxiliary Air Station was commissioned on April 1, 1957. The estimated
population of Port Isabel was 5,300 in 1958. The shrimping industryqv contributes
significantly to the local economy. In 1960 Port Isabel harvested 7,136,000
pounds of shrimp and served as a gateway into South Texas and northern Mexico.
The port, equipped for all types of export and import tonnage, handled 444,627
short tons that year. In 1966 Hurricane Beulah devastated 15 to 20 percent of
the town, and another 25 percent required major repairs. That year Port Isabel
had an estimated population of 4,000 and 122 businesses. During the 1960s, forty-one
million pounds of shrimp annually, 65 percent of the state's production, came
from the area. At the annual Shrimp Fiesta held in Port Isabel, among the many
ceremonies is a Blessing of the Fleet. The area is also supported by other commercial
fishing, tourism, and the petroleum industry. Among the larger businesses in
the 1960s were a chemical refinery, a pipeline-service company, shipyards, and
a frozen-food company. In 1978 the Port Isabel Ship Channel had been dredged
to thirty-six feet in depth and 200 feet in bottom width. It was 7,144 feet
long and had a turning basin thirty-six-feet deep by 1,000 feet wide. During
the middle to late 1970s the population fluctuated between an estimated 3,067
and 3,740. The new Queen Isabella Causeway was constructed in 1974 and replaced
the original Queen Isabella Causeway, which became known as the Old Fishing
Pier. In 1980 Port Isabel had an estimated population of 3,603 and 155 businesses.
During the 1980s the town continued to attract tourists. Recreational opportunities
included fishing, boating, and hunting. In 1989 the port handled 263,335 short
tons of cargo. In 1990 Port Isabel had a population of 4,622 and a school, although
the number of businesses had declined. The town continued to support itself
from the shrimping and fishing industry as well as the tourist industry.
Current Population: 5017
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