page_title: Port of Corpus Christi
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Port of Corpus Christi / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Corpus Christi Harbor as seen from the Harbor Bridge circa 1993-1997
context_page_description: The Port of Corpus Christi is the third-largest port in the United States in total tonnage. The Port of Corpus Christi is located on Corpus Christi Bay in the western Gulf of Mexico, with a straight 45-foot-deep channel. The port is stationed near downtown Corpus Christi in Nueces County, Texas, but is not part of the city or the county. The Port of Corpus Christi operates without receiving any city, county, or state tax dollars.
  It is governed by a board of seven local community leaders, three of whom are appointed by the Nueces County Commissioners Court, one by the San Patricio County Commissioners Court, and three by the Corpus Christi City Council. The Port of Corpus Christi handles over 6,000 vessels and over 80 million tons of cargo annually. Environmental initiatives are handled through the port's Environmental Management System. Public safety at the Port of Corpus Christi is handled by the Port Corpus Christi Police Department and its state-of-the-art security center.
context_section_description: After the Corpus Christi 1919 hurricane, also known as the Florida Keys Hurricane, local business leaders realized the need to build a deep-water port to help with reconstruction and stimulate the economy. On September 14, 1926, seven years after the devastating hurricane, an official "statewide" celebration of the opening of the Port was held. At that time, the three navigation commissioners were Robert Driscoll, Chairman, John W. Kellam of Robstown, and W.W. Jones.  The first port commission was appointed in 1923 with three members.  In 1973, a special act of the legislature increased the number of commissioners to five, and in 1983, another special act of the legislature increased the number to seven. 
  Today, the members are Charles W. Zahn, Jr, Richard Ralph Valls Jr, David P. Engel, Richard Bowers, Wes Hoskins, and Catherine Tobin Hilliard. The Port has recently seen exponential growth in its traffic, has created hundreds of jobs in Nueces and San Patricio Counties, recycles more than 35,000 pounds of materials, and purchases 100% of the port’s energy from renewables.
  In Summer 2019, the Port of Corpus Christi was recognized by the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) for its America’s Energy TM media campaign and received the 2019 Award of Excellence. The campaign highlighted the Port’s ongoing infrastructure investment program and the importance of the record-breaking exports of American energy passing through the Port of Corpus Christi to the Nation’s allies and trading partners around the world. The AAPA Excellence Award recognizes the Port of Corpus Christi as an overall-category top submission amongst competing ports of similar size.
caption: Corpus Christi Harbor as seen from the Harbor Bridge circa 1993-1997
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