Aransas County, Texas
Port Aransas is home to 7 official Texas Historical Commission markers — each one telling a piece of the city’s story. Browse the markers below, then find them on the map and discover more nearby with RoadHistorical.
Construction of 67-foot tower was started in 1855. The French lens was lighted in 1856, to mark natural Gulf pass to Aransas and Corpus Christi Bays by way of Lydia Ann Channel -- named for the daughter of the first…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗Aransas Pass, the natural inlet (3 miles east) to Aransas Bay, separates San Jose and Mustang Islands. These islands are part of a chain of barrier islands which extend along the entire length of Texas' Coastal…
View on map ↗In the late 1700s, the U.S. began a coastal defense system to protect ports and strategic points. Texas, which became a state in 1845, featured several gulf coast sites that would prove important in U.S. Military…
View on map ↗The Aransas Pass has significantly influenced the economic development of the region. The natural waterway also has included treacherous navigational hazards. In 1878, the U. S. government addressed this situation when…
View on map ↗Port Aransas is located on Mustang Island, one of seven Texas barrier islands. It is named for the wild horses that came here from shipwrecks and Spanish expeditions, and which once populated the island. The earliest…
View on map ↗THE MERCER FAMILY ON MUSTANG ISLAND ROBERT AINSWORTH MERCER (1799-1875) ARRIVED ON MUSTANG ISLAND CA. 1855. AFTER STARTING A SMALL SETTLEMENT, MERCER WAS APPOINTED NUECES COUNTY’S WRECK MASTER, WITH OVERSIGHT OF THE…
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