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The PROGRESS—Aransas Pass, TexasPAGE 8B — WEDNESDAY. JUNE 9, 1965Beginning-(Continued from Page t- ti nel in a direct line between Harbor Island and Aransas Pass, a distance of six miles.The firm first bought from the widow of T. P. McCampbell that portion of the twelve thousand acres originally purchased by T B. Wheeler which was unsold by the latter and which he had returned to the former owner. They then proceeded to sell town lots and five- and ten-acre tracts. With deep water assured so near the town of Aransas Pass, and with so much publicity having been given this project is was not difficult to sell these paicels of land. It is claimed that more than six thousand of these lots and tracts were sold to people from manyparts of the United StatesBurton it Danforth completed a channnel from Aransas Pass to HarborIsland eight feet in depth, in 1911 Through special legislation, called ' The Harbor Island Act of 1911”, the State of Texas authorized the General Land Office of the state to sell land on Harbor Island fronting on the harbor so recently recommended by U.S. Engineers. The Harbor Island Act of 1911 further stipulated that onlv those who built docks and or a railroad and or channels to connect the harbor with the mainland, all in the inteicst of the public, were eligible purchasers Burton it Danforth, by virtue of the channel that they had dredged from the mainland to the harbor, bought all the land to which they were entitled underthe terms of the Harbor Island Act at the harbor site.Tins harbor is located directly in front of the Pass It is about 800 feet inwidth and 3000 feet in length, and the Government authorized it to be dredged to a depth of 20 feet When this dredging was started, the spoil was deposited on Harbor Island, raising the elevation of the water-front property to about eight feet Subsequent dredging operations from time to time completed the job of raising the land to a height of twelve feet over a large area Prior to these operations. Harbor Island was subject to overflow by high tides to a depth of three or four feet In dredging the channel between the harbor and Aransas ass. a spoil bank was created on the south side of the channel of sufficient quantity with Which to build a railroad embankment, and the railroad was constructed on thisembankment in 1912.manufacture of concrete boatsIn 1918 the France Canada Steamship Co.. of New York selected Port Amn.as a* a site to build concrete boats, due to the fact that its cl.mat,c condition perm’,fled concrete to be poured the year round The program called for building of cl tankers first Thts work brought a great many labor, rs to Aransas Pass and a housing shortage developed overnight The Aran, .as Harbor Terminal Railway ran a tram for !he workmen from Aransas Pass 'and a.so hauled a great deal of material used in the construction of these boats. This new business, coupled with the increased movement of oil through t e por, brought to the railroad, the dock company, and to the people of Aransas ass a welcome period of prosperity. This condition continued until September. 1919. when in addition to the other traffic and business, cotton again started movingthrough Port Aransas.THE GREAT HURRICANE OF 1919On September 14 1919, the busy port bore the brunt of one of the most destructive hurricanes of which the United States Weather Bureau has any record Several hundred people were drowned in Coipus Chnsti. and a few crowned in Port Aransas and Aransas Pass. This storm completely destroyed the railroad tracks and embankment, the warehouse of the Jock company, and otherport facilities.However, the France Canada Steamship Co. completed two of their concrete tankers under great difficulties. Oil continued to move from Mexico and wasRppinnine Pace'/8
Newspaper Details
Aransas Pass Progress
Aransas Pass, Texas, US
Wed, Jun 09, 1965
Page 17
Full Page
Clipped by
Max B.
USA 14 Jan 2019
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Aransas Pass Progress
