Port Isabel, Texas: A Fisherman's Paradise

 Port Isabel is a little town on the mainland side of the Queen Isabella Causeway. 

It was first settled in the early 1830s. By 1845, a post office was established and named Point Isabel. 

In 1849, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate came to town and changed the name to Brazos Santiago and established Our Lady by the Sea. This is Our Lady, Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Port Isabel.

The Oblates of Mary Immaculate were a missionary group founded in France in 1816. They invaded Texas in 1849 establishing a headquarters in Brownsville and then moved up the Coast. If you remember, it was to the Oblates of Mary Immaculate that Rancho La Parra was left.

Meanwhile, in 1853, the Point Isabel lighthouse was erected. And by 1859, this sleepy little town was the second largest city in the area and was exporting $10M in cotton every year. During the Civil War, it was a haven for blockade runners due to its proximity to Mexico. As a result, the Union Navy either captured or destroyed all the ships in Port Isabel's harbor.

In 1881, the post office changed the name to Isabel. Thank goodness! In 1915, it became Point Isabel and then, finally, in 1928, the town was incorporated as Port Isabel. In the 1960s Port Isabel developed a huge shrimping industry harvesting over 7M pounds of shrimp per year. 

The first time we went to Port Isabel together was in 2021 but John's family had been going there since the 1970s. It's a small sleepy little town that people need to drive through when they go to South Padre Island. It's most distinguishing characteristic is the Point Isabel Lighthouse.

It sits atop the hill as a reminder of the town's past glory, such as it was. The Lighthouse, commissioned in 1853, helped ships navigate the deep water channel during a time when there were few viable access points in the area. During the Civil War, the Union Soldiers extinguished the light to prevent it from aiding the Confederate Navy. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1905.

The Queen Isabella Causeway was built in 1977 to replace the older one, which became "the old fishing pier". It's almost 2 1/2 miles long and is the only way I know of to get on the island. During Spring Break and the summer months, it gets pretty backed up. Also, if you're staying on the island, get your supplies in Port Isabel before you go over the bridge.

This is the Port Isabel Museum, which is NOT open on Sunday. How unfortunate for us as I would love to have gone in. The building was erected in 1899 by Charles Champion and was known as the "Key of the Gulf". That was because back then the building housed a General Store, a Post Office and a Customs House. As ships came through the port, they had to stop in an say hello. The mural like painting on the building of fish and other sealife was done in 1906 by Juan Morales to promote the fishing industry. It's obviously been maintained pretty well.

The Queen Isabel Inn was built in 1906 as the Point Isabel Tarpon and Fishing Club located strategically next to the Railroad Station. For over 20 years, it was the only hotel in the area. It is the oldest continuous hotel business in Cameron County. It started tourism in Port Isabel before there were cars.

When we were here before, Port Isabel didn't have much going on besides the Pirate's Landing where there were touristy restaurants, boat rides and kitschy photo ops. Now they have an H-E-B! 

I think there's a lot of potential for Port Isabel. I know that most people that drive through there are on their way to South Padre Island but there's only so much you can do on the island outside of hang out at the beach. I think if Port Isabel would build up their side of the bay and advertise their historic hotel, railroad depot (which is now a restaurant) and open the museum on the weekend, they'd be better placed to take advantage of the tourist that are there for the island. Just a thought.

There are 5K people that live here. Most work at the Walmart or the H-E-B. They have some of your standard fast food places like Dairy Queen and Pizza Hut but no national restaurant chains. They do have a Starbucks so you can get your coffee fix. 

Overall, I liked Port Isabel. I don't know that I could live there because of the influx of Spring Break kids and such but I enjoyed it while I was there. Hopefully, I'll be back and check out the museum.

Meanwhile, if you're in the area, check it out!