|
Bay city was
established in 1837.
Formerly known as Bay Prairie. |
Bay City, Texas
Landmarks / Attractions
|
Vintage building
in Bay City town square
TE Photo, 2000 |
Matagorda
County Museum
The former 1917 Post Office, restored
2100 Ave F |
Historical
Marker:
Bay City Post
Office
An election in
the fall of 1894 resulted in the relocation of the Matagorda county
seat from the city of Matagorda to
Bay Prairie (now Bay City). D. P. Moore, the postmaster at the nearby
small town of Elliott, owned property in the new town and moved his
dry goods store to Bay City in 1894. His nephew, Joseph D. Moore,
became Bay City's first postmaster. In 1912 D. P. Moore sold his property
to the United States government for a new post office building. Contractor
W. B. Lovell broke ground for the post office in 1917 and the building
opened to the public on May 15, 1918. An addition built in 1958 provided
extra working space and a loading dock at the rear of the structure.
This building continued to serve the Bay City community as a post
office until 1989. During that time it also served as a town meeting
place, the site of the Selective Service Board during World
War II, a Civil Defense fallout shelter, and a place of refuge
from storms and hurricanes. On October 30, 1990, after several months
of negotiations with the United States Postal Service, the Matagorda
County Museum Association purchased the building to house the Matagorda
County Museum.
(1992) |
 |
Old
City Bank on NW corner of courthouse square
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September 2012 |
Historical Marker:
OLD BAY CITY
BANK
Established 1898,
four years after founding of Bay City. Private bank. Owners: Henry
Rugeley, Frank Hawkins. This building erected 1903, site of many investment
transactions important to Texas
gulf coast development.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965 |
The former Bay-Tex
Hotel c. 1929
A nice example of a hotel built when cities formed their own corporations
to build hotels to lure the new phenomenon of the "motoring" tourist.
At 6th Street and Avenue E
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September 2012 |
1908
Austin building on the south side of the courthouse square
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September 2012 |
St.
Mark's Episcopal Church
2200 Avenue E, Bay City
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September 2012 |
Historical Marker
St. Mark's Episcopal Church
This congregation traces its roots to Christ Church,
Matagorda, from which parish many of its early members had come following
the relocation of the Matagorda county seat to Bay City in 1894. Formally
organized in 1895 under the leadership of the Rev. John U. Graf, St.
Mark's held early worship services in the two-story frame building
that also served as a temporary courthouse. The first church building
was completed in 1901 during the ministry of the Rev. John L. Sloan.
Over the years, the congregation has placed an emphasis on community
service and outreach.
Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986 |
First
United Methodist Church
Corner of Avenue H and Fourth Street
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September 2012 |
Historical
Marker:
Bay City Methodist Church
The origins of this congregation date to 1870, when
circuit-riding ministers visited people living along the Colorado
River at Red Bluff. Norman Savage (1826-1879), a church elder, served
the small congregation, and the first minister was Thomas W. Rogers.
When the town of Bay City was surveyed in 1894 the Methodist congregation
relocated and bought one of the first town lots. By 1897 they had
built Bay City's first church structure, a frame building with a steeple
and bell. The building also served as a Union church for other denominations
in the town. The congregation purchased land at Fourth Street and
Avenue H in 1904, and the original church building was later sold
to the Bay City school system. Services were held in the courthouse
and a building on the square until a temporary open-air tabernacle
was built. Additional land was acquired in 1906, and a new sanctuary
was completed in 1909 during the pastorate of A. S. Whitehurst. The
church's fifth building was erected in 1958 and dedicated on March
30 of that year. A part of Bay City and Matagorda county history for
over a century, the Bay City Methodist Church continues to serve the
community.
(1987) |
 |
Another view
of the Old City Bank
TE Photo,
2000
More Texas Banks |
Bay City Recreation
Matagorda County
Birding Nature Center
35-acre along the Colorado River
Trails, fishing piers, wetlands, gardens and wildlife
1025 SH35
1.7 miles W of Bay City
979-245-3336
LCRA Matagorda Bay Nature Park
1,600-acre park
At the mouth of Colorado River and Gulf of Mexico
6430 FM 2031
800-776-5272 est.4740 |
Bay City Tourist
Information
Bay City Chamber
of Commerce - 409-245-1622
2420 Seventh Street
Website: www.baycity.org
Contact them for the excellent driving and walking tour maps of Bay
City. |
Matagorda
County
From 1920 Texas state map #10749 showing Bay City
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
| 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. |
|
|
HOME
