Shipyards in Rockport

Shipbuilding was a natural industry for Rockport. The earliest recorded ship built here was the Connie, constructed in 1880 by Bludworth & Company. The Bludworth family specialized in building pleasure craft and scows.

In 1917, World War I prompted construction of ...

Site of Rockport Tavern

In October 1844 Abraham Lincoln gave a speech at Spencer County Courthouse to promote Henry Clay, Whig presidential candidate. Lincoln, during his first trip to Indiana in 14 years, was a guest at the Tavern. Site first marked October 28, ...

Rockport World War I & II Memorial

These Our Dead In Honored Glory Rest

World War I

1917   1918

James E. Bryan R.C.A.

John A. Carlson U.S.A.

Dwight P. Dutton U.S.M.C.

Edward R. Everett U.S.A.

Harold T. Grover U.S.A.

Edward Peterson U.S.A.

World War II

1941 ...

Rockport’s Harbor

In 1866, James Doughty and Richard H. Wood, searching for a safe harbor location to ship cattle, built pens and a livestock-shipping wharf on “Rocky Point,” a prominent limestone protrusion that extended into Aransas Bay near present-day Wharf Street. Other ...

Rockport’s Seafood Industry

Rockport’s commercial seafood companies have been operating for more than one hundred years. By 1903, David Rockport Scrivner had opened a fish house. In 1907, he sold to Roy Jackson who named the operation the Jackson Fish Company. A few ...

The Packeries of Rockport

After the Civil War, Rockport became an important cattle ranching and shipping center. In 1866, James Doughty, T.H. Mathis, and John M. Mathis constructed cattle pens, with a long wharf that extended out into Aransas Bay from “Rocky Point” (the ...

Rockport’s Wharves and Pavilions

Since 1866, wharves and piers have been a part of Rockport’s shores. The first wharf, constructed to ship cattle, was at Rocky Point. Other wharves handled commercial shipping and passenger traffic. Sorenson’s Wharf extended into the bay behind the Sorenson ...

Rockport’s Grand Hotels

Before the arrival of the railroad in 1888, hotels in Rockport generally served clientele of the several local packeries. The Congdon Hotel was the leading hostelry of early Rockport and once served as a boarding home to the prominent Robert ...

First National Bank of Rockport

Chartered on October 8, 1890, the First National Bank of Aransas Pass (now Rockport) was organized by a group of businessmen led by John H. Traylor, James M. Hoopes, George W. Fulton, Jr., James C. Fulton, and Richard H. Wood. ...

Rockport

The town of Rockport was founded by cattlemen J.M. and T.H. Mathis in 1867. Originally a part of Refugio County, it became county seat of newly formed Aransas County in 1871. Shipping and fishing provided the primary economic base of ...