In 1830.

about 1 1/2 miles in width. It is separated from San José Island to the south by Cedar Bayou, and is separated from the Mata…

The range had four squadrons (856th, 857th, 858th, 859th) Single-Engine Gunnery Squadrons assigned, flying the North American T-6 Texan, under the control of … Stephen F. Austin had led a group of settlers here to the mouth of the Colorado River.

1939: The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was dredged across Matagorda Bay bringing with it heavy barge traffic. The original airfield was built in 1942 as Matagorda Island General Bombing and Gunnery Range. On Matagorda Island, the quiet, analytical Murchison spent four years building a self-sustaining compound. Later more survivors came in, including Cabeza de Vaca. Their first contact with Europeans was in the winter of 1528 when they met two boatloads of half-dead Spaniards from the Narvaez expedition. Eventually, through disease, harassment, social disintegration, genetic dilution, habitat destruction, and utter despair, the Karankaw were gone. M atagorda Island is very important in United States and Texas history. MATAGORDA COUNTY. Fifty-two families from New York and New England became the first settlers.

The airfield originally had three runways, with a large "L" shaped concrete parking apron. In 1935, the boisterous Richardson … While our physical offices are closed until further notice in accordance with Austin's COVID-19 "stay home-work safe" order, the Matagorda Island was probably first seen by a European in 1519 when An 11,502-acre tract on the south end of the island was controlled by the Wynne Ranch from about 1925 until 1986, when the state and the federal governments reached an agreement to establish a national wildlife refuge on the entire island. This rugged landscape is host or home to many amazing wildlife species, including whooping cranes, Kemp's Ridley sea turtles, reddish egrets, alligators and coyotes.The first peoples to inhabit today’s 56,000-acre barrier island were the nomadic Karankawas who gathered fruits and roots, hunted birds and mammals with bow and arrow, and made cane weirs to trap fish, turtles, and shellfish. The north-eastern end is on Pass Cavallo, the entrance to Matagorda Bay from the Gulf of Mexico. Welcome to Matagorda Island - History. Matagorda Island was formed about 4,500 years ago.

Hugh Walker Hawes (1798 - 1883), my great grandfather, first came to MGI from Kentucky in 1839. It supported the USAAF Gulf Coast Training Center pilot training in the southeast United States. In spite of the location, which is accessible by boat or air only, the refuge hosts about 10,000 visitors a year.If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Matagorda County is in the Coastal Prairie region of Texas, bounded on the north by Wharton County, on the east by Brazoria County and the Gulf of Mexico, on the west by Calhoun and Jackson counties, and on the south by the Gulf of Mexico and Tres Palacios, Matagorda, and East Matagorda bays. The history of Matagorda Island Lighthouse closely parallels that of its twin tower at Galveston. This is the spot where the French explorer, Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle landed on February 15, 1685, on his ill-fated mission, and established his first base.

The center of the county lies at 28°54' north latitude and 95°59' west longitude; Bay City, the county's seat of government and largest city, is four miles north of the center of the county at t… Matagorda Island Texas.

In 1685, Frenchman La Salle established a camp on the northern tip of Matagorda Island while his ships were navigating Pass Cavallo. Later years brought colonizers and conflict. View these posts and more when you register your free The traditional homeland of the Karankawa people, the island is oriented generally northeast-southwest, with the Gulf of Mexico on the east and south, and Espiritu Santo Bay on the west and north.

The Spanish tried to missionize the Karankaws. 1942: The Federal government acquires portions of Matagorda Island for use as a military training base, which became the... 1971: The Air … A Digital Gateway to Texas History