Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 28, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 11, 2013 Page: 5 of 64
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Port Aransas South Jetty
Islanril iffi
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Courtesy of PAPHA
Wendy Moore George Horner
Construction Lending Officer Branch President
LisaTalamantez
Senior Mortgage Lending Officer
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Port Aransas
History corner
Harbor Island once bustling
zm
John
Guthrie
Ford
While waiting at the Harbor
Island ferry landing with my
out-of-state guests, a woman
asked me, “Why didn’t this
place develop?” I saw her
point. Abandoned buildings
and the lack of activity hardly
reflect that Harbor Island was
once a beehive of maritime
activities.
The dream
In the late 1800s, the
mainland region that became
Aransas Pass was a hot item.
Entrepreneurs had targeted it
for fast growth, which would
happen, so the theory went, if
the region had a super seaport.
That the region was seven
miles from the Gulf of Mexico
was not a problem: Superport
would be on Harbor Island
and connected to the
mainland by a railroad and a
channel. The advertisement
map (published in Austin
circa 1890) showed the grand
scheme, hoping to entice
people to move to and invest
in this part of Texas (as
many did). Superport never
happened. It was relegated
to the dustbin by the 1893
depression and a company’s
failure to deepen (with jetties)
the Aransas Pass waterway,
which was a requisite to the
port.
The reality
Thoughts of a Harbor
Island seaport resurfaced in
the early 1900s. This time,
the port was anchored to
the government building
a proper jetty system, and
also the proposed port was
reasonably pared down to two
warehouses and a three-vessel
wharf (see port arrow on old
map). That facility opened
in 1912. The primary bill
of lading was Texas cotton,
headed to clothing mills in
JULL
Workshops/
classes
•Drop in and Draw with Pat
Donohue. Tuesdays, 9:30
a.m. -12:30 p.m. $13.50 mem-
bers, $15 non-members.
•First Tuesday Portrait Draw-
ing with Pat Donahue. Once
a month, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30
p.m. Cost $15 non-members,
$13.50 members. Bring draw-
ing supplies.
•Beginning/Intermediate Wa-
tercolor with Judith Deshong
Hall. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
$25 each session or $80 for
4 sessions. Call to check on
class status.
•Soft Pastels with Nancy
Thyre. Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. to
12:30 p.m. $13.50 members,
$15 non-members. Get your
set of soft pastels (Michael’s
or Hobby Lobby has them for
$14.95) and you can buy the
right paper from the instructor.
j DELICIOUSLY TOPPED
Fresh & Hot!!
\Wf/#
P0RT “
PORT "FI'
407 E. AYE. G
PORT A’S ONLY ALL-U-CAN-EAT
PIZZA BUFFET SERUED ALL DAY
FEATURING SALAD BAR & ICE CREAM1
323 N. Alister St.
(361) 749-7334
T T 1 . Photo courtesy of Jim Moloney
Harbor view
A1915 view of Harbor Island from Port Aransas. The seaport’s warehouses are to the right,
and the large dark structure (left) is an oil storage tank.
England.
The new port, and its
railroad and channel,
opened the door to maritime
enterprises on Harbor Island;
these are their start/stop
dates. The 1912 cotton port
shut down in 1926 when the
Corpus Christi Ship Channel
opened, allowing ships access
to a larger port with better
transportation systems. The
oil storage industry came to
Harbor Island in 1912 and
ended in 1993. A shipyard
opened in 1918, but lasted
only a year. A ferry landing
came to Harbor Island in
1926 and, of course, remains
today as a greatly expanded
facility. The fabrication
of structures for offshore
drilling began in 1976, and
the last of that operation was
sold in 2003. The year 1983
saw the start of the offshore
service (crew boat) industry,
which continues to this
day; and the latest maritime
addition to Harbor Island was
barge transshipment of Eagle
Ford Shale crude oil. The
shore and mooring facilities
for the Texas Treasure casino
ship were on the island from
2000-2008.
These are the companies/
entities associated with those
Harbor Island operations:
Seaport and channel:
Aransas Pass Channel and
Dock Co. Railroad, Aransas
Harbor Terminal Railway
Inc. Channel. Oil storage:
Magnolia Oil, Humble
Oil, Atlantic Richfield,
MUD, HOT & CHIPOTIE HOT
WE Deliver 749-5226
Dine in-Carry out-Delivery
■oYAZe/Vj,
> PORT "R"
2 Medium
2 Topping
Pizzas
$18»
Not valid With any olher offar please
mention coupon when oroerino
.xpi'es 7/18/13
Dine in-Carry out-Delivery j
> PORT "71" ^
1 Large
1 Topping
Pizza
$gss
Not valid with any othar altar please
mention coupon wtven ordering I
expires 7/18/13 *
Port Aransas Animal Shelter
749-5941 or749-624l 409 W. Cotter
ramasiy ana licuun
Ford overwrote the fantasy and real parts of the first maritime
development on Harbor Island.
American Petrofina (perhaps
more). Shipyard: France &
Canada Transportation Co.
Ferry operation: private,
county, state ownership.
Fabrication: Brown 8c Root,
J. Ray McDermott. Offshore
services: Haliburton, Martin
Midstream. Texas Treasure:
Corpus Christi Day Cruises,
LLC.
(Mark Creighton and
Mark Young contributed
substantially to this article.)
[Editor’s note: Port
Aransas History Corner is
a monthly feature compiled
primarily by historian Dr.
John Guthrie Ford. Ford,
a charter member of, and
consultant to, the Port
Aransas Preservation and
Historical Association, is
the author of A Texas Island,
available at various retail
outlets in Port Aransas.]
Photo courtesy of PAPHA
Tank farm
The oil tank farm was an
icon on Harbor Island. The
oil storage industry was the
longest continual operation
(1912-1993) on Harbor
Island.
Ifetr
(|y
Saliva.
■h
CAT OR W TODAY!
, SALOON .
With you from start to finish
Thursday,
June 25
Deadline
FOR THE
Fall
Visitors’
Guide
Reserve your ad space
Call Jackie
at (361) 537-5777
or Murray
at (361) 813-2707
or 749-5131
i
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Judson, Mary Henkel. Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 28, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 11, 2013, newspaper, July 11, 2013; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth505890/m1/5/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.