Category: History

  • A Tour of the Lighthouse (1927)

    What is happening here?! Visitors have clambered to the top of Point Isabel Lighthouse, to the very top, in the lantern room, on the outside catwalk. They have quite literally stepped through the frames of the windows in the top of the lighthouse and gathered around an exciting message from the Port Isabel Townsite &…

  • The Story Behind the Photo [1947]

    “Thriving Port Isabel Steeped In Tradition Seeks to Make State Monument Of Ancient Lighthouse” HIGHLIGHTS:• Known at “Fisherman’s Paradise” & “Brushville”• Population 1,304 – 1,306 persons• Two-thirds live on revenue derived from fishing industry• Fishing industry estimated at a million dollars a year• Small boat building businesses• A million dollar port• Lighthouse “extinguished”• Sen. Kelly…

  • Maxan Street, downtown Port Isabel

    It’s the mid 1920s and Point Isabel is buzzing with activity including this street improvement project on Maxan St. near the Point Isabel Lighthouse. The roadway was cleared and rebar and forms laid. Sidewalks and curbs were added. Maxan St. was the main street in Port Isabel for most tourism traffic catching the ferry to…

  • Ancient Landscapes of South Texas Reception 12/12

    The Port Isabel Historical Museum will host a reception, screening and book signing for the award winning Ancient Landscapes of South Texas: Hiding in Plain Sight exhibit. Thursday, December 12 from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Ancient Landscapes of South Texas, Hiding in Plain Sight The Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools [CHAPS] Program at…

  • Lighthouse Visitors Are From 15 States

    Reprinted from the Port Isabel Press, Jan. 1, 1954 Fifteen states were represented by visitors to the Lighthouse during the past week according to Jesse Ickes, State Park keeper in Port Isabel. Mr. Ickes has been keeping track of different states represented and they include Louisiana, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska,…

  • Campbell’s Sea Chest To Have Formal Opening

    Campbell’s Sea Chest To Have Formal OpeningReprinted from the Port Isabel PressJanuary 29, 1954 Campbell’s Sea Chest will open in the new location opposite the Lighthouse Saturday, January 30. The Sea Chest is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Roland Campbell. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell came to Port Isabel six years ago and opened a “shell…

  • History of Highway 48 & Park Road 100

    Reprinted from the Port Isabel PressJanuary 1, 1954, p. 3 Most spectacular coastal highway in America may take shape within the next few years along the Gulf coast, providing another strong link between two friendly nations and a shortcut to Mexico City for most residents of the United States. The route would reach from Corpus…

  • Happy 100th Bobby Wells

    June 2nd, 2023, Bobby Wells will turn 100 years old! She and her family came from Rochester, Minnesota to Port Isabel (Brownsville) in September of 1930 to seek opportunities during the Great Depression. With over nine decades in Port Isabel, Bobby is truly a local Port Isabellian. Please wish Bobby a Happy Birthday using this…

  • Poem Written by Student about Lighthouse, 1950

    A 1951 description of the Port Isabel Lighthouse is illustrated in this 1940s: “For over 10 years before rehabilitation began last February, the building had been padlocked. Lightning had twice struck its iron roof; the metal railings had rusted and fallen away; wood work had rotted, bricks molded and crumbled, and the dizzily winding iron…

  • Late 1970s Downtown Port Isabel

    Downtown Port Isabel in the early-1980s. The 2nd Queen Isabella Causeway opened for traffic in September 1974. The traffic pattern through Port Isabel changed as a result of the new route. Garcia Street (the last street before crossing the causeway) was less traveled and Maxan Street, one block north of Highway 100 became more developed.…