Shoal Point and Half Moon Shoal Lighthouse
Inscription
A number of families settled along Galveston Bay in the 1830s after land grants were awarded to veterans of the republic of Texas army and navy. An early community at this site became known officially as Shoal Point in 1878 when a U. S. Post Office was established. It was renamed Texas City in 1893.
The commencement of shipping in Galveston Bay led to increased settlement in the area. In 1854 the U. S. Government erected a lighthouse in the bay two miles east of Shoal Point at Half Moon Shoal. One of several lighthouses built along the Texas Gulf Coast that year, the Half Moon Shoal lighthouse wa sa red and white painted frame structure with galleries surrounding the main portion of the building and a captain's walk around the light.
A bell served as a fog warning device. Decommissioned during the Civil War, the lighthouse was returned to service in 1868 and provided hazard warnings until the disastrous 1900 storm, when a steamship broke free from its mooring and drifted into the structure, destroying it and killing keeper Charles K. Bowen.
A beacon replaced the lighthouse until the shipping lanes in the bay were chanted after the construction of the Texas City channel and dike.
Location
Sources
More markers in Galveston
W. P. Ballinger Law Firm
Galveston, TX
Oldest continuous law firm in Texas.
Carmelo "Charles" Bertolino
Galveston, TX
(September 4, 1887 - March 8, 1960) Born in Galveston in 1887, Carmelo Bertolino was the son of Salvatore Bertolino (d. 1891) and Rosalia...
Bolivar Point
Port Bolivar, TX
In 1815 Colonel Henry Perry established a military camp here as part of a plan to invade Spanish Texas.
Burial Site of David G. Burnet
Galveston, TX
(1788-1870) Provisional President of Texas (March 16, 1836 - Oct. 22, 1836).
Site Of Landmark Campbell's Bayou
Texas City, TX
Settled 1821 by privateer James Campbell (1791-1856), U. S. Navy veteran, War of 1812, who after discharge was lieutenant and close...