Rockport

Rockport took its name from the rock ledge beneath its shore. Before the town was platted, James M. Doughty and Richard Wood had built cattle pens here in 1866, and in 1868 Joseph F. Smith and John H. Wood built a shipping wharf and platted the north half of town. When the Morgan Lines pulled out in 1886, the cattle raisers lost their way to ship beef. Rockport pushed for a deepwater harbor through the Aransas Pass bar, but a 1921 Kingsville meeting called by Robert J. Kleberg backed the Corpus Christi plan instead.

What the plaque says

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 the town in its early years. The railroad arrived in 1888 and with it came a decline in the shipping industry, although shipyards were in operation during World War I and World War II. Rockport has been a popular recreation center over the years, and tourism continues to be important to the local economy. (1988)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Aransas County — steps away
• First National Bank of Rockport — 0.2 mi
• Jackson Family Maritime Companies — 0.4 mi
• Rockport Marine Laboratory — 0.4 mi