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History in
a Seashell
Port
Aransas, formerly known as Ropesville and as Tarpon,
is a resort and fishing community on Mustang Island. The settlement
began as a sheep and cattle grazing station.
The town began in 1850 by Englishman Robert A. Mercer when he settled
on St. Joseph Island. Five years later he moved to Mustang Island
and built a cabin.
The first post office was established in 1888 and called Ropesville
in honor of Elihu H. Ropes. In 1890 Ropes attempted to build a thirty-foot
channel across the island. Six years later the town name was changed
to Tarpon to advertise the fishing opportunities.
The name Port Aransas was officially adopted in 1911.
Port Aransas had a population of only fifty in 1925 which grew to
300 in six years.
The population can swell during tourist season and traffic rivals
that of larger Gulf Coast
cities. |
Port Aransas
Attractions include
Birding
Center: Ross Avenue and Cut-off Road
Mustang
Island State Park
3500 acres of park with five miles of beach frontage. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us
Port Aransas
Museum:
361-749-3800
www.portaransasmuseum.org
Port Aransas
Nature Reserve
361-749-4111
www.cityofportaransas.org
University
of Texas Marine Science Institute: Displays of Gulf Coast flora
and fauna. Open weekdays only 8 to 12 and 1 to 5. 361-749-6806
Nearby Destinations
Corpus
Christi to the south, Rockport
to the north.
Book Hotel Here > Port
Aransas Hotels
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Historic Tarpon
Inn
National
Register of Historic Places
Texas Historic Landmark
Photo courtesy Sarah
Reveley |
Tarpon Inn in
the 1920s
Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Historical Marker
200 East Cotter Avenue, Port Aransas
Tarpon Inn
In 1886 Frank Stephenson, a boat pilot and assistant
Aransas lighthouse keeper, opened an inn at this site in an old barracks.
He called the facility "Tarpon Inn" for the abundant trophy fish in
nearby gulf waters. The Inn served as a landmark for sailors, and
Port Aransas was known for a time as "Tarpon".
In 1897 Mary Cotter and her son J.E. Bought the two story inn from
Stephenson. After the building burned in 1900, two new structures
were built in 1904. When the 1919 hurricane destroyed the main structure,
the dining facility was used until it was sold in 1923 to James M.
Ellis and his wife. Ellis soon rebuilt this inn to resemble the old
barracks. He placed 20-foot poles in 16 feet of concrete with pilings
at the corner of each room to reinforce it against future hurricanes.
For a time guests could reach the inn only by boat. It became a tradition
to sign and date a Tarpon scale and place it on the wall in the front
room. Among the famous patrons was president Franklin D. Roosevelt
who fished here in 1937. Duncan Hines spent his honeymoon here and
recommended the food for the next 25 years. The inn has housed many
area residents during storms and served as headquarters for the Red
Cross, Salvation Army and Military units.
1979 |
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Tarpon Inn in
the 1940s
Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Port Aransas,
Texas Chronicles:
Port
Aransas 1919 Storm by Mike Cox
Fishing
in Port Aransas
by Mike Cox
[Tarpon] arguably, is the fish that spawned recreational fishing
as a Port Aransas pastime. It happened in the mid-1880s, when work
began on a set of rock jetties intended to deepen the ship channel
to Corpus Christi.
When mainlanders connected with the construction project started
seeing big schools of tarpon, it occurred to some of them that catching
one of those big fish would be good sport.
Not having boats of their own, these “jetty people” (as the locals
called them) began paying island residents $1.50 to row them out
for some tarpon fishing. That, according to the Port A museum exhibit,
marked the beginning of sport fishing on the Texas
coast. In addition, it was the genesis of the fishing guide
business, a pop-and-sometimes-mom industry that still brings money
to this part of Texas... more
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A mosquito hawk
at Paradise Pond in Port Aransas
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine, 2006 |
Barney's, Port
Aransas
Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Port
Aransas, Texas Forum
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Subject:
Fishing
in Port Aransas
Papa loved to go fishing at Port Aransas. To this day, the ferry
at Port Aransas brings joy to my heart. My brother got to go fishing
and I had to settle for walking on the shore looking for shells
with Mamma, wearing a big white shirt of Papa's with white gunk
on my nose. Anyway here is Papa and his catch, probably around 1950.
What a thrill that was, isn't that a tarpon? He always had white
gunk on his nose, he must have wiped it off for the picture. Here's
Mamma, too. We always drove down in her jeep. Papa didn't want to
get his Buick Special dirty.
Port Aransas is very dear to me. Thanks for the memories. - Sarah
Reveley, March 19, 2011
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"Papa
loved to go fishing at Port Aransas"
- Sarah
Reveley 1950s photo |
"Walking
on the shore looking for shells with Mamma"
- Sarah
Reveley, 1950s photo |
"Here's
Mamma. We always drove down in her jeep. Papa didn't want to get his
Buick Special dirty."
- Sarah
Reveley, 1950s photo |
Subject:
Port Aransas
In looking at your great site, I came across the [page] on Port
Aransas, Texas.
Since
I was a small child my parents made it a point for to take us to
Port Aransas for two weeks during our yearly summer vacation. I
am now 73 years old and up until about 5 or 6 years ago I had made
it a point to enjoy a few days at Port Aransas nearly every year.
As a child the feeling of joy and elation never failed to come over
me at the first sight of the rolling waves at the beach. That feeling
has stayed with me all these years. My dad was an avid fisherman
and we lived on a dry land farm near Ballinger,
Texas. He and my mother had five kids of their own and raised
two other's who had lost their parents. However, by the time that
I came along the only other child left at home was my brother who
was just older than me. We enjoyed the fishing and romping on the
beach and in those rolling waves.
On one occasion, my oldest sister joined us on our trip. She was
about 25 and was very confident of her svelte figure. She came out
with a chartreuse green strapless bathing suit and joined me in
the surf for fun. The waves were strong that day and we were playing
in the roughest of them. An unusually big wave came over us and
when my sister came out of it she was topless. I can still recall
the look of pure horror on her face and since the wave was gone-by,
there was no water to plunge herself into until the next wave came
along. Needless to add, I laughed until I hurt.
Over the years this treasured vacation spot has changed so much.
I recall back in the early 1940's that the motels where we stayed
were very plain with only the necessities provided. Later we stayed
at the Gulf Shores Motel, Seagull Motel and Lone Palm, as well as
others. Now there are luxery motels in great numbers all over the
island. There were lots of people who vacationed there during the
early years but now it is swamped with vacationers.
When I was about 10 years old (about 1944) I went to the movies
on some evenings. The movie house was a tile brick building with
no roof. Amazed me! Then when I was nine years old we went on a
deep sea fishing trip. When we started fishing the captain of the
boat strapped me and that huge rod and reel into my seat. " Hey",
I thought -" I'm nine years old and have been fishing since I was
five! I know how to fish with a rod and reel!!" I want to tell you
that when that first King fish took the bait, I was delighted to
be strapped in the chair and more than happy to have the fishing
reel tied down as well. I caught 5 Kingfish that were so long their
tails hung over the side of the barrel that they were dropped into,
head first. My dad only caught four of these giant fish and I never
let him forget that "I out-fished him." I was so attached to Port
Aransas that just seeing those little signs along the roadway, across
the state, "Port Aransas - Where they bite everyday!" would cause
me to long to go back there.
The fish seem to have abandoned the Gulf around Port Aransas. The
last few times that we have gone there and fished our luck has been
pretty bad. We caught fish alright, but not those really good eating
fish. Others may like the shark, red tuna, Yellow Jack and such
but I had rather not eat those fish. I have been shocked that even
the "Hard Head's" (rough catfish) are now a protected species because
their numbers are so few.
I do hope to make it to Port Aransas one more time, before I join
my parents and siblings on that big fishing trip in the sky. - Rosemary
Bradley Davis, San Angelo, Texas, July 14, 2007
Subject:
Port Aransas
This may not be important but it left quite an impression on me.
I visited Port Aransas years ago and drove onto the ferry that takes
your car across the channel. There were dolphins jumping on both
sides of the front of the ferry and it made a stunning view. It
would make a great photo. I tell this to all my friends and apologize
that I have no photos to share. I just couldn't help but remember
that when I came across your information on Port Aransas. Anyway,
just a little side note. By the way, just by luck I came across
your magazine. My jaw dropped when I found it and can't believe
the fantastic information. Good job!!! - Beverly Santos, June 07,
2007
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The Aransas Ferry
(post-marked 1965) |
Port Aransas
Tourist Information
Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce /Tourist & Convention Bureau
421 W. Cotter Port Aransas, Texas 78373
(361) 749-5919
1-800-45-COAST
Website : www.portaransas.org |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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