Matagorda County

Collegeport, Texas

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Collegeport is on Farm Road 1095 and the eastern shore of Tres Palacios Bay, half a mile north of Pelican Slough and two miles northeast of Palacios in southwestern Matagorda County.

History

Collegeport was organized by the Hurd Land Company in 1908 as a promotion for selling acreage in Jonathan E. Pierce's ranch. The company also established the Gulf Coast University of Industrial Arts. The combination of a port and the college gave the settlement its name. The community was organized in the early 1900s and secured a post office in 1909. It became a stop on the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway in 1911. By 1914 it had a bank, the college, a weekly newspaper called the Collegeport New Era, and a population of 450. That year an agricultural crisis contributed to a decline in population. Ten years later in December an ice storm killed hundreds of cattle around Collegeport, and the packing house closed. In 1936 the town had a population of 200, six businesses, two schools, a college, two churches, and numerous dwellings. By 1938 the Collegeport Independent School District had been formed. In 1946 the population was still estimated at 200, but the number of businesses had dropped to three. By 1948 the Collegeport schools had been consolidated with the Palacios Independent School District. By 1952 the college, the church, and most local businesses had closed. From 1955 to 1965 the number of residents was estimated at 100. In 1988 Collegeport had one business, and in 1990 the estimated population was ninety-one. In 2000 the population was eighty-five, and the town had three businesses.

Location

28° 43' 30.972" N, 96° 10' 29.892" W

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