Old Point Isabel Lighthouse · 1936
The beacon for the commerce of the Rio Grande; Erected by the United States Government in 1852; Extinguished during the Civil War; Discontinued, 1888-1895; Permanently discontinued, 1905
View on map ↗Cameron County, Texas
Historical Markers in Port Isabel, Texas
Port Isabel is home to 11 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.
Point Isabel, C.S.A. · 1964
After Texas seceded and joined the Confederacy, the Federal Navy in late 1861 blockaded this port with the U.S. "Santiago de Cuba". Commerce stoppage caused removal of customs offices to Brownsville and some civilians…
View on map ↗Port Isabel (Old Point Isabel) · 1972
Site of a ranch settlement, owned by Don Rafael Garcia, called "El Fronton de Santa Ysabel" (Bluff of Saint Isabel) about the year 1828. The Mexican custom station was located here in 1844, after the villages of Brazos…
View on map ↗Padre J. Nicolas Balli · 1983
Padre Island, off the South Texas coast, is named for Padre Jose Nicolas Balli (177?-1829), whose family migrated from Spain in 1569 and became large landowners in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. In 1800 Balli applied to…
View on map ↗1923 Point Isabel Coast Guard Building · 1988
The federal government has operated a coastal installation at Point Isabel since 1852. This structure is the third permanent building erected here, one of a line of nine stations established along the Gulf of Mexico…
View on map ↗Alta Vista Apartments · 1988
Constructed in 1931 for the Gaskill-Hodgson Company, this Mediterranean Style structure is the oldest apartment building in Port Isabel. A survivor of numerous coastal storms and hurricanes, the complex originally…
View on map ↗Port Isabel Cemetery · 1990
Encompassing almost one acre of land, the Port Isabel Cemetery is located on property granted to Don Rafael Garcia by the government of Mexico in 1829. The land was known as the Santa Ysabel Grant, and Garcia soon…
View on map ↗Queen Isabel Inn · 1991
Built by 1906 to lodge Rio Grande Railroad Company passengers and tourists, especially fishermen and hunters, the Queen Isabel Inn was first known as "Point Isabel Tarpon & Fishing Club". The hotel hosted family train…
View on map ↗Port of Matamoros · 1994
The Port of Matamoros was established in 1824. Commercial cargo, shipped mainly from New Orleans and other U.S. ports, was unloaded at the port and transported overland to Matamoros, Reynosa, Camargo, Monterrey, and…
View on map ↗Site of Fort Polk · 1995
A mexican village developed on this point, settled by mexican ranchers in the 1700's. The village was abandoned prior to the U.S. Declaration of war with Mexico in 1846. U.S. forces led by general Zachary Taylor…
View on map ↗Charles Champion · 1996
The son of Joseph Champion, an Italian immigrant who settled in Texas in 1855, Charles Champion was born on February 2, 1870, in Old Point Isabel. He served as district clerk in Hidalgo County before purchasing the Hess…
View on map ↗Discover Port Isabel’s history on the road
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