Port Lavaca, Texas: Paradise on the Bay

On our tour down the Texas Coast, we stopped in Port Lavaca, county seat of Calhoun County. The town was founded in 1840 after a terrible attack by the Comanche Indians on the nearby town of Linnville. The terrified citizens of Linnville fled to the water and watched from boats anchored in the bay while the Comanche destroyed their town. After the raid, many of the Linnville citizens moved to Port Lavaca.

Lavaca means “The cow”. Weird that a town would be named as such but it was named for Lavaca Bay. By 1842, the town was laid out and by 1846, named the county seat of Calhoun County. For a while it was the terminus of the Morgan ship lines. After a couple of years, Charles Morgan abandoned Port Lavaca and rerouted the ships to Indianola due to the sandbars in Lavaca Bay that forced the ships to dock far away.

Even so, Port Lavaca was still a busy shipping port. Then in 1852, Indianola became the county seat. It had the shipping advantage due to a deepwater port near Powderhorn. By 1860, Lavaca had fallen behind Indianola.

During the Civil War, Lavaca was had a lot of military activity including a Confederate arsenal and a small arms manufactory. Supposedly, the county seat was moved back to Port Lavaca in 1864 because the citizens of Indianola swore allegiance to the Union Troops. But by the end of the war, it was moved back to Indianola.

Then in 1886, Indianola was hit was a hurricane so severe the town was completely destroyed. Once again the county seat was moved back to Port Lavaca, this time permanently. Whiplash!

In the 1940s, several companies set up shop in nearby Point Comfort like Alcoa, DuPont and Formosa. They also developed a shrimping industry along with agriculture and livestock.

By the time we got there, we were pretty tired and I forgot that we were there to check out the Texas Coast. Our first stop was to see the Half Moon Reef lighthouse. Built in 1858, the lighthouse sat out in Matagorda Bay. Supplies were only brought to the lighthouse twice a year! It was decommissioned in 1942 and moved here in 1979. 

You can see Lavaca Bay in the background here but we never drove over by the water. Instead we headed straight over to the Calhoun County Museum.

This is the 1896 Calhoun County Jail. Like most county jails at the time, the Sheriff's residence was on the first floor and the jail cells were on the second floor. It would not have been unusual for the sheriff's wife to cook for the inmates. That would have sucked! Also on the second floor was a gallows that was only used once. In 1914, a Black man named Henry Wilson was executed for the murder of a white woman. In 1964, the building was no longer used as a jail and the Calhoun County Museum moved in. Unfortunately, the building was not well maintained and it had to be demolished in 2001.

Now the museum is next to the county courthouse. Admission is free.

It's mostly a disorganized jumble of stuff. For example, this desk at the front of the museum was used by the Navidad Hotel, which became the Seagull Hotel. The hotel was built in 1907. It ceased being a hotel sometime in the 1960s. The building is still around but I think it's apartments now. 

They also had this random bedroom set. It was hand carved in 1870. That's cool but there's no story associated with it. Just the fact that was hand carved and used in Indianola. 

This used to be the Calhoun County Courthouse back in 1887 when the county seat came back to Port Lavaca for good. This courthouse has charm and character. It was demolished because it was outdated and had been outgrown.

In 1959, this new courthouse was erected. It was designed by the same guys who did the Matagorda County Courthouse in Bay City. While it may be functional, it has no character.

Main Street in Port Lavaca consists of some old run down buildings. This is the Lavaca Theater that was built as a movie house in 1930s. By the 1950s it was vacant. In the mid-1980s, it was renovated into a live theater. This is the only building on the street that seems to have any history.

In 1856, the San Antonio & Mexican Gulf Railway went from Port Lavaca to Victoria in the hopes of opening a trade route. During the Civil War, the tracks were pulled up to prevent the Union soldiers from using it. In the 1870s, Charles Morgan's steamship company used the train lines. Then in 1884, it was bought by Southern Pacific. The depot was built around 1908. Passenger serviced continued until the 1930s bringing folks in to go to the beach.

About 12K people live in Port Lavaca. Most probably work at the big plants located in the area like Alcoa and Formosa. They have an HEB and a Walmart along with most of your fast food chains. I didn't see any major sit-down restaurant chains but I assume the restaurants there are pretty good.

I was disappointed in Port Lavaca. I felt like there was a lot of potential here but nobody wanted to make the effort. Similar to the county museum, it was just a hodge podge of things with no story to tell. But don't take my word for it. If you're in the area, check it out for yourself!