Family time has always been a blessing I have treasured. Last Wednesday, shortly after work, I loaded up my car and headed to Portland, Texas, to meet my parents and kids, who had gone ahead several days prior. My grandmother traveled with them as well. I have an aunt and uncle who live there, so it’s always a wonderful escape for a few days. Roadside markers are everywhere on the journey down. Between Temple and Rockport there are multiple ways to get there. This time, from Austin, I travelled Texas Highway 183 to Luling, and then took Texas 80 from Luling to Kenedy, where the road turns into US 181, and that took me all the way to Portland. It was already late, but the number of historical markers along the highway were many. I made notes and have decided to take a couple of day trips later. My plan was, of course, to enjoy my family while making memories. My parents know my love of history though, so they were well ahead of me on finding a few markers to see and record. Last Thursday, my dad and kids got up early to head out into the ocean for some deep sea fishing. While they were out, mom and I went for a pedicure. Much needed self care! The boys came back with quite a few catches. After a bit of a rest, Dad, the boys and I set out to find 2 of those exciting black historical markers.
The first was the Site of Indian Point Mass Grave of 1919 Hurricane Victims. I learned that in 1919, a hurricane destroyed the area, killing 284 people. The numbers may have been higher, as there could have been many lost at sea. The bodies were originally buried in mass graves just east of this historical marker, but were eventually moved to Rose Hill Cemetery in Corpus Christi, by request of family members.
The second marker was a little harder to locate, but as the sun was setting, and we were heading back to the house, we saw it on the side of the road, as we were crossing the bridge from Corpus to Portland. We decided to check it out the following day.
On Friday, after spending the day with my parents and kids aboard the U.S.S. Lexington, a historical monument in its own, we zipped around Corpus Christi looking for a music store for my youngest son JT. He is an aspiring guitar player and it was a natural thing to indulge his passion. On our way, we saw several markers along the sea wall, but didn’t stop for those, as traffic was heavy and we were in route. However, we did see one a little out of the way of heavy population, so we pulled over. It was the Artesian Park and Sulphur Well. The sites history dates back to Texas becoming a state. The site of the well was donated to the city by the city founder, H.L. Kinney, and is one of the oldest public parks in Texas donated by an individual. Shortly after Texas became a U.S. state, General Zachary Taylor (future President of the United States) went to Corpus Christi with 4000 troops to defend it from Indians and foreign entities. Taylor dug the artesian well as a part of his time there. Two other future presidents among his troops were Pierce and Grant.
After we found the music store and began heading back to Portland, we took the detour to find the Reef Road historical marker. An interesting monument alongside the busy highway, it marks the path that native Americans and early settlers used to reach one side of the bay from the other. Although it wasn’t the most reliable path, it was the shortest. The road is often covered by water due to high tides. The path is still there to use by foot, but closed to cars. All around you can see where the water rises.
On Saturday, May 29, Dad and I took off on our own to explore. We went around Portland and found a few parks along the water. Then we drove to Ingleside. There we found 3 historical markers. One indicating the establishment of the town Ingleside, a second to mark the site of the early Ingleside Schools and a third, to mark the site of McGlom Bluff. I had never heard of the last one, and so I did a little research. The title of the marker appears to be misspelled. In the description at the bottom, the name of the site is actually McGloin Bluff, which is what I found in another source online the TSHA website (Guthrie, 2021). The historic site dates back to 1830 when a group of settlers, aboard a ship named Albion were out of water to drink. The priest on board saw a vision of water in sand and when they reached this spot, they did indeed find drinkable water.
Later that evening, we took a drive to Port Aransas, one of my favorite places in Texas. A neat island full of history, fun and awesome places to eat, I absolutely love visiting. A walk along the beach is worth the sand in my shoes. I can always feel the salty air carrying all my troubles away as I bask in the sunshine paradise. On this day, we stopped at the Tarpon Inn on our way. In 1887, it was purchased by Frank Stephenson who turned the once barracks into an inn. It burned down and was rebuilt, and suffered damages by the 1919 hurricane. It has been a shelter for many residents during storms, and also became the headquarters for emergency organizations Red Cross and Salvation Army, as well as the military. Famous guests included Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1937, and Duncan Hines.
We delighted in one other historical marker while on the island. The site recognized the significance of World World II Defenses at the Aransas Pass. World War II, other than the attacks on Pearl Harbor, took place on other lands. We don’t always think about our military protecting our shores and land borders, but there is a system in place. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, a German submarine was spotted off the coast of Aransas Pass. The U.S. sent an artillery regiment to Mustang Island, with canons. They stayed there until October of 1942.
We did enjoy visiting the beach and treating ourselves to ice cream at Desserted Ice Cream shop at 100 E. White Avenue in Port Aransas. The charming dessert shop offered different flavors, small or big cones, or a cup, shakes, ice cream floats and pie. The line was long, but worth the wait.
Keith Guthrie, “McGloin’s Bluff,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed May 31, 2021, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/mcgloins-bluff.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
