Who to call in Palacios

Texas Governor George W. Bush welcomes both citizens and visitors to enjoy the diverse natural resources of our state, and praises the responsible stewards of our natural resources. The Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail is the first of its kind in the United States. An extremely fine birding map has been issued jointly by the Texas Department of Transportation and Texas Parks and Wildlife. It is available at most Chambers of Commerce, and locally in Palacios at 312 Main Street.

There is a local legend that a Spanish ship was wrecked off the coast near present-day Palacios. As the sailors abandoned ship, they saw a mirage of three palaces, and swam toward the shore where they thought the palaces were. As they got closer to shore the palaces seemed to disappear, but the name, Three Palaces, remained. In Spanish that name is Tres Palacios.

Matagorda County was organized in 1837 when Texas became a Republic. The area was largely ranch land until cotton farming became a viable option. At the turn of the century, land developers moved into South Texas, touting the climate, the land, the availability of network railroads, and access to navigable streams and the Gulf of Mexico.

The real estate agent W.C. Moore joined with others to form The Texas Rice Development Company in West Matagorda County, choosing 19,400 acres on Tres Palacios Bay. The area, called Bull Pasture, had been part of the famous Shanghai Pierce Ranch. In 1902 a town was laid out at Hamilton Point which was called Tres Palacios. Since that time the "Tres" has been dropped from the official name.

[Bay City] [Blessing] [Markham] [Matagorda]
[Palacios] [Sargent] [Van Vleck] [Wadsworth]

Matagorda Area Network Contact Information
Voice: 979-245-1017
E-mail: mannet@man-net.org