Author: Port Isabel History

  • William Egly, Unsung Hero of the Lower Laguna Madre

    In 1895, William Egly transferred from the Lydia Ann (Aransas Pass) to take over the role as Principal Lighthouse Keeper at the Port Isabel Lighthouse. The Egly’s had relatives in the Rio Grande Valley. There is a record of at least one visit in 1893 during which time the Egly’s stayed for several weeks and…


  • Capture Giant Sea-Cow

    Monster Taken by Fishermen Weights 3,000 Pounds and is Twelve Feet Long. This story is one of those tales from the sea that fed the traveler’s imagination! The capture of the Manatee nearly caused the death of one local angler in the fray. Reprinted from an article in a Baxter Springs, Kan. newspaper in 1912.…


  • Port Isabel Road Work Will Open (1930)

    First Piling Here For Construction Of Causeway. Brownsville Herald, August 12, 1930. Construction work on the state highway to Port Isabel will open either Wednesday or Thursday > > >


  • The Killer Storm of August 12, 1880

    The recollection of Judge Pierce, of Brownsville, of a storm that took the lives of two people as recalled 30 years later. Boats were ripped from wharves, high winds and rains forced a search for better shelter and higher ground. Survivors ate pumpkins soaked in Vermouth while waiting for help to get back to Port…


  • 1912: Hurricane Hits Our Coast

    October 15 & 16, 1912 high winds and rain hit the area. Eye witnesses, including an employee of the U. S. Weather Bureau to the train conductor on the R.G.R.R. share their observations. > > >