Surfside Beach in Brazoria County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Site of San Luis

Photographed by Richard Denney, December 31, 2013

1. Site of San Luis Marker

Inscription. Located on an island owned by Stephen F. Austin in 1832, the town of San Luis was established by the early 1830s. In 1836 the Follett family opened a boardinghouse and established a ferry service between Galveston and Brazoria County. Developers such as George L. Hammeken laid off town lots and planned for a major rail and canal connection to local plantations for shipping cotton and other local products. By 1840 San Luis was a thriving community with a population of 2,000. There were plans to build a bridge to the mainland, and a plat filed with the county clerk in 1841 outlined a city with more than fifty blocks. Storms, harbor sanding and a depressed economy made San Luis a short-lived community. By the end of the 20th century, most of the original townsite was under water due to shoreline erosion.

Erected 2000 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 11766.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1832.

Location. 29° 4.742′ N, 95° 7.803′ W. Marker is in Surfside Beach, Texas, in Brazoria County. It is on San Luis Pass Park 0.3 miles west of Bluewater Highway (County Route 257), on the right when traveling west. The marker

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is located just outside the visitors center in San Luis Pass County Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 14001 Bluewater Highway, Freeport TX 77541, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Houston Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South

and on the Gulf Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Republic of Texas,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 14 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Titlum-Tatlum (a few steps from this marker); Karankawa Campsite (approx. 11.7 miles away); Hudgins Cemetery (approx. 12.3 miles away); William Jarvis Cannan (approx. 12.3 miles away); Historical Jetties (approx. 13 miles away); Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (approx. 13 miles away); West Galveston Island (approx. 13.6 miles away); The Lively (approx. 13.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Surfside Beach.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Sinking Site of the Blockade Runner "Acadia" (was approx. 12.9 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Photographed by Richard Denney, December 31, 2013

2. Site of San Luis Marker

Marker in context, with park visitor center in background.

San Luis Pass image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Richard Denney, January 2, 2014

3. San Luis Pass

Photo from near the county park looking northeast at bridge from Galveston island crossing San Luis Pass.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 11, 2024. It was originally submitted on February 7, 2014, by Richard Denney of Austin, Texas. This page has been viewed 1,398 times since then and 45 times this year. Last updated on April 10, 2024, by Chris Kneupper of Brazoria, Texas. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on February 7, 2014, by Richard Denney of Austin, Texas. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.