| | | | 
By Norman Frank, March 21, 2012 | |
| | | 1. The Old Beach Road Marker | | |
Inscription. In early Rockport, many prominent families lived on what was called the Old Beach Road, now Water Street. Paved with white crushed shell, the road was lined with huisache, anacua, wild persimmon, prickly ash trees, dewberry vines, and stately homes. Before the 1919 hurricane, its residents included the Evans, Thrall, Peelers, Bartell, Myers, Westies, James, Kurtell, Clearman, Sedan, Sorenson, Norvell, Hanks, Perrenot, Stevens, Mason, Gruey, Herring, and Soule families. Edgar A. Stevens served as county and district judge, John C. Herring as county clerk, and Edward Soule was Rockport’s postmaster.
The Bay Side Inn, located midway down the road, had a long pier with a bathing pavilion at its end. The residents of the neighborhood were allowed to use the pavilion, along with the hotel guests. Rockport’s cemetery was also on the road in the 700 block but was later moved to its present location.
The 1919 hurricane sent a 10-foot surge over the road and destroyed many of the homes, but some survived, including the Baylor-Norvell, Hanks, and Sorenson houses. One Sorenson house was spared the storm’s fury because the broken structure of the Bailey Pavilion washed up in front of it.
Winifred Evans Lowther remembered her Rockport childhood years in her 1973 autobiography, The Old Beach Road.
Erected | | | | 
By Norman Frank, March 21, 2012 | |
| | | 2. The Old Beach Road with marker on left | | |
2011 by Visionaries in Preservation, Aransas County Historical Society, Inc., Texas Historical Foundation, Texas Tropical Trail/Texas Historical Commission, Aransas County Historical Commission, City of Rockport, and Margaret Sue Rust Foundation. (Marker Number 1.)
Location. 28° 0.944′ N, 97° 3.164′ W. Marker is in Rockport, Texas, in Aransas County. Marker is on Water Street 0.1 miles south of East Morgan Street, on the left when traveling south. Click for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 900 Water Street, Rockport TX 78382, United States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Baylor-Norvell House (approx. 0.2 miles away); Shipyards in Rockport (approx. 0.3 miles away); Mathis House (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Cedars (approx. 0.3 miles away); Sorenson-Stair Building (approx. 0.4 miles away); Moore House (approx. 0.4 miles away); Rockport’s Grand Hotels (approx. 0.4 miles away); First Methodist Church of Rockport (approx. 0.4 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Rockport. |
Subscribe
— Privacy Policy
— Terms of Use
— About Us
— Contact Us
HMdb.org
