, 1935-07-30
PORT ISABEL'S
HISTORY DATES
TO EARLY ERA
Celebration Is For
Reopening Rather
Than Opening Of
Deep Water
CONTINUED from Page one)

The railroad into Mexico cut INTO
the port business tremendously, and
the building Of the railroad TO
Brownsville In 1904 brought 1t TO
an end, and left Port Isabel as q
fishing town.
But the memory Of seaport days
fingered on, and some men Of vision
began to see the possibilities Of
building a port along modern lines.
These possibilities loomed larger
as the Valley cleared its farm lands,
planted citrus tries. and started
sending out long trainloads Of pro-
duce. They doomed larger as peace
came to troubled Mexico and that
republic started developing her rich
resources. and shipping produce to
foreign nations.
As early as 1910 the development
Of the port propect was started.
A government appropriation OF
$4,000 made before 1882 for the
BRACES project vas spent IN dredg-
Ing. But since there was no Ietties
to maintain the pass, the bar re-
formed, and the expenditure brought
no results.
But Valley men OF vision. such
as the late Commodore Louis Cooo-
lini and Dave O'Brien OF Browns
Vile, continued TO work for devel-
opment OF q port.
20 tote tha NJ q aruv ~arufnpnrS
made a survey, and after two years
Of study the engineers announced
approval OF the development as a
16-foot project II Valley people
would meet the cost Of cutting a
channel across the Laguna Madre
from Port Isabel, and building a
standard gauge railroad connecting
Brownsville and Pot Isabel.
These obligations the Valley
\ agreed to assume, and the battle
Ia fulfill the forms Of the most
colorful pages In the history OF the
section.
A fund Of 100000 was needed. OF
which Brownsville was to furnish
$4,000 and the rest Of the Valley
the remainder. The drives Tor
funds were started, and Valley peo-
pie ell the way from BROWNSVILLE 70
Mission and Raymondviile contri-
buted. The sum vas later cut 10
Si25 1000.
Anon the men who worked TO
raise these funds were some VINO
will talk 20 Valley people at int
port opening. They III G. l. Jessup
OF Brownsville and James G. Bowie
Of san Benito.
Along toward the end Of the fight
anne the famed S. Q. s. campaign
IN which VIM. T. Burnett, o
Brownsville postmaster, also tcok q
leading part, and in which the school
children OF the Valley contributed
their pennies 20 Save our Seaport.
The channel dredging contract was
let, and the dredging work started
on the i6-fcot channel across the La
guna Madre. The dredge failed 70
finish the Job because funds ran out,
and the port project remained with
out progress for a period OF five
years.
Then IN 1925 the army engineers
started work on the 1etties at BRACES
Pass. building the old ~jetties, which
extended for 1900 feet out into the
Gulf OF Mexico.
The dredge Absecon cut the chan
mel TO a depth Of is feet.
But there were delays caused by
lack Of funds, and the port seemed
far In the future.
The Ric Grande Railroad was fin
ally taken over by w. I. Eldridge
and associates Of Sugarland, who
standardized It.
In 1929 the Port Isabel-San Ben
ito Navigation district was formed,
and the fight for the port was placed
on q different basis. The district
voted $1,000 In bonds &c finance
facilities al the turning basin, and
dredging OF the inner channel.
The BraZoS harbor bill was passed
by Congress on July 8. 1880 provid-
ing funds for dredging the outer
channel, construction CT the jetties
and maintenance. and the question
Of q port was put squarely up 70 the
two navigation districts, the Browns
vile district having meantime been
formed.
After several conferences between
} officials Of the two districts a plan
was worked out whereby the San
Benito district. which had sold It's
bonds. advanced money for dredging
that part OF the channel in a line
from the pass toward Brownsville,
and funds fer purchase Of the tips Of
the two islands, which are in the
Brownsville Navigation district. The
Brownsville district, which had not
sold its bonds. put up bonds TO Sc
cure the money.
The money later was paid to the
San Benito district as soon as a
PWA loan 20 the Brownsville dis
trict was made.
Meantime contract had been let to
the Atlantic. Gulf & Pacific COM
pany for dredging Of the channel
from Brazos Passto Port Isabel, and
the dredging was IN due course OF
time completed.
Construction work was started on
the giant ietty project, which was
let TO the Callahan Construction Co,
of Dallas and st. Louis. The cost CT
the ~jetties. which extend a mile
into the Gulf. was s2.60O.OO0. and
this money was advanced to the war
department by the PwA.
As soon as dredging was complet-
ed on the channel 20 Port Isabel,
the district started building facili-
ties at the turning basin, first put
ting down the steel sheet pilinR. This
work was done by Dodds a. wede-
aartner OF San Benito.
The district then built the metal
transit shed. and later built other
facilities. including the water, rail,
and highway connectinnS flooring
fn the transit shed. flooring Of the
wharves. and building Of bulkhead
cushions OF piling.