Port O'Connor, Texas

History

Port O'Connor was laid out in the late 19th century as a fishing settlement called "Alligator Head". As it grew in popularity with both permanent residents and tourists, the community took on more municipal characteristics, earning the formal designation finally in 1909 as the town site of Port O'Connor. It was named after its main landowner at the time, Thomas M. O'Connor, son of Thomas O'Connor, who owned 70000 acre. Aside from local cattle raising and fishing, the town was also a producer of figs and citrus fruit.

Its initial population growth spanned the years 1909 to 1919. Excursion trains ran on weekends to Port O'Connor, and an estimated 10,000 tourists came every summer.

Port O'Connor has been struck by four hurricanes since it was initially settled. The 1919 Florida Keys hurricane brought the "good old days" to a halt, destroying the town. It rebuilt slowly, but the 1942 and 1945 hurricanes so close in time were hard to overcome. In 1961, Port O'Connor was in the midst of another growth boom due to the increase of military personnel on nearby Matagorda Island Air Force Base. That same year, Hurricane Carla destroyed the town again, but times reflect its will to survive, fueled by tourism, commercial fisheries, and the petrochemical industry. Hurricane Harvey struck the town again in 2017.

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1850–1900 1910 1920 1930 1940

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Port O'Connor first appeared as a census designated place in the 1980 United States census. It was deleted prior to the 1990 U.S. census; and relisted as a CDP in the 2010 U.S. census.

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 954 people, 433 households, and 331 families residing in the CDP.

Education

Port O'Connor is served by the Calhoun County Independent School District.

Due to its small population, the town has only one school, Port O'Connor Elementary School, which has the dolphin as its mascot. Port O'Connor Elementary School covers prekindergarten through grade five. Children are then bused to the nearby town of Seadrift or to Port Lavaca to finish their sixth- through twelfth-grade educations. The secondary schools that serve Port O'Connor are Seadrift Middle School, Travis Middle School, and Calhoun High School.

References

References

1. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Port O'Connor CDP, Texas". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder.
2. {{GNIS. 2586973
3. [http://www.matagordaisland.com/history.htm History of Matagorda Island]
4. "Decennial Census by Decade".
5. "1900 Census of Population - Population of Texas By Counties And Minor Civil Divisions".
6. "1910 Census of Population - Supplement for Texas".
7. "1920 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas".
8. "1930 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas".
9. "1940 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas".
10. "1950 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas".
11. "1960 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas".
12. "1970 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas".
13. "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas".
14. "1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Texas".
15. "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Texas".
16. "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Texas".
17. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Port O'Connor CDP, Texas".
18. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Port O'Connor CDP, Texas".
19. "About Us".