Aransas City, Texas
Encyclopedia
Aransas City is a ghost town
on the tip of the Live Oak Peninsula in Aransas County, Texas
near present-day Fulton
. It served as a port on Aransas Bay
at its confluence with Copano Bay
during the 1830s and 1840s, but declined following its loss of a Republic of Texas
customhouse to the rival port of Lamar
.
, empresario
James Power
constructed his house on the northern tip of Live Oak Peninsula at the site of the former Spanish fort of Aránzazu, which guarded Copano Bay
to the west. Power later founded the town in 1837 in what was then Refugio County and partnered with former Texas Governor Henry Smith
to organize and advertise the town to potential settlers. Afterwards, several stores were established and the population reached 500. The town was incorporated in 1839, and included a customhouse for the Republic of Texas
, and served as the county seat of Refugio County until 1840. The town was attacked by the Karankawa
and Comanche
Indians several times and was raided by the Mexican irregulars in 1838, 1839 and 1841.
After the founding of Corpus Christi
by former Aransas City-resident Henry Kinney
, the port was no longer the westernmost in Texas. It soon lost its customhouse to the rival port of Lamar
in a controversial decision that contributed to the town's demise: Lamar had been founded in 1839, on the other side of the present day Copano Bay Causeway (on Lamar peninsula) by settler James Byrne, who had been affiliated with Power. The town was named after the newly elected President Mirabeau B. Lamar
, whom Byrne lobbied to, to relocate the Aransas City customhouse. Lamar complied with the request, ignoring an Aransas City petition that opposed the move, and soon Aransas City was stripped of its designation as the county seat. The events mirrored the political feud between Lamar, who was supported by Byrne, and former President Sam Houston
, whom Power backed. Power moved on to Copano
, and by 1847, Aransas City was largely abandoned and no longer had a functioning government.
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
on the tip of the Live Oak Peninsula in Aransas County, Texas
Aransas County, Texas
Aransas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Corpus Christi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was 22,499. Its county seat is Rockport. Aransas County was formed in 1871 from Refugio County.-Geography:According to the U.S...
near present-day Fulton
Fulton, Texas
Fulton is a town in Aransas County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, this South Texas coastal fishing community had a population of 1,553...
. It served as a port on Aransas Bay
Aransas Bay
Aransas Bay is a bay on the Texas gulf coast, approximately northeast of Corpus Christi, and south of San Antonio. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by San José Island . Aransas Pass is the most direct navigable outlet into the Gulf of Mexico from the bay...
at its confluence with Copano Bay
Copano Bay
Copano Bay is a northwestern extension of Aransas Bay, west of Rockport, Texas in Refugio and Aransas counties. It is supplied with seawater from the Gulf of Mexico via Aransas Bay, and fed freshwater from the Aransas River, Mission River and Copano Creek...
during the 1830s and 1840s, but declined following its loss of a Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
customhouse to the rival port of Lamar
Lamar, Texas
Lamar is a small, unincorporated community in Aransas County, Texas , ten miles north of Rockport and forty miles north of Corpus Christi. The community was named for Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second president of the Republic of Texas....
.
History
Prior to the Texas RevolutionTexas Revolution
The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...
, empresario
Empresario
An empresario was a person who, in the early years of the settlement of Texas, had been granted the right to settle on Mexican land in exchange for recruiting and taking responsibility for new settlers. The word is Spanish for entrepreneur.- Background :...
James Power
James Power (empresario)
James Power was an Irish-born Texan empresario, politician and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, known for the land grant he received with partner James Hewetson that included the coastal area between the mouths of the Guadalupe and Nueces Rivers, as well as his founding and service...
constructed his house on the northern tip of Live Oak Peninsula at the site of the former Spanish fort of Aránzazu, which guarded Copano Bay
Copano Bay
Copano Bay is a northwestern extension of Aransas Bay, west of Rockport, Texas in Refugio and Aransas counties. It is supplied with seawater from the Gulf of Mexico via Aransas Bay, and fed freshwater from the Aransas River, Mission River and Copano Creek...
to the west. Power later founded the town in 1837 in what was then Refugio County and partnered with former Texas Governor Henry Smith
Henry Smith (Texas Governor)
Henry Smith was first American-born Governor of the Mexican territory of Texas and briefly presided over the revolution there.-Early life:...
to organize and advertise the town to potential settlers. Afterwards, several stores were established and the population reached 500. The town was incorporated in 1839, and included a customhouse for the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
, and served as the county seat of Refugio County until 1840. The town was attacked by the Karankawa
Karankawa
Karankawa were a group of Native American peoples, now extinct as a tribal group, who played a pivotal part in early Texas history....
and Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
Indians several times and was raided by the Mexican irregulars in 1838, 1839 and 1841.
After the founding of Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
by former Aransas City-resident Henry Kinney
Henry Kinney
Henry Lawrence Kinney was born in Pennsylvania, USA on June 3, 1814. In 1838 Kinney moved to Texas and settled near where Brownsville, Texas is today. He served in both houses of the Texas Legislature...
, the port was no longer the westernmost in Texas. It soon lost its customhouse to the rival port of Lamar
Lamar, Texas
Lamar is a small, unincorporated community in Aransas County, Texas , ten miles north of Rockport and forty miles north of Corpus Christi. The community was named for Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second president of the Republic of Texas....
in a controversial decision that contributed to the town's demise: Lamar had been founded in 1839, on the other side of the present day Copano Bay Causeway (on Lamar peninsula) by settler James Byrne, who had been affiliated with Power. The town was named after the newly elected President Mirabeau B. Lamar
Mirabeau B. Lamar
Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar was a Texas politician, diplomat and soldier who was a leading Texas political figure during the Texas Republic era. He was the second President of the Republic of Texas, after David G. Burnet and Sam Houston.-Early years:Lamar grew up at Fairfield, his father's...
, whom Byrne lobbied to, to relocate the Aransas City customhouse. Lamar complied with the request, ignoring an Aransas City petition that opposed the move, and soon Aransas City was stripped of its designation as the county seat. The events mirrored the political feud between Lamar, who was supported by Byrne, and former President Sam Houston
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
, whom Power backed. Power moved on to Copano
Copano, Texas
Copano, Texas or El Copano is a ghost town on the northwestern shore of Copano Bay in Refugio County. It is located north of present day Bayside, on Copano Point. The port, which holds the distinction as the first in South Texas, was founded in the early 18th century by the Spanish, and named for...
, and by 1847, Aransas City was largely abandoned and no longer had a functioning government.