Lamar, Texas

Lamar is a small community in Aransas County, Texas, ten miles north of Rockport and forty miles north of Corpus Christi. Like the (otherwise unconnected) Lamar County it was named for Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second president of the Republic of Texas.

Lamar was founded in 1839 at Lookout Point, on the channel entrance to Copano Bay. President Lamar agreed to relocate the customhouse here, and the town thrived as a port and the site of a salt works. This prosperity ended abruptly on February 11, 1864 when the town was bombarded and practically obliterated by the Union Navy.

For most of the 20th century the population was less than 200, but by the 2000 census it was assessed at 1,600. The restored cemetery is a Texas historical landmark.

References

* [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/LL/hll12.html Handbook of Texas Online]

External links

* [http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasGulfCoastTowns/Lamar-Texas.htm Lamar Texas and Lamar Cemetery]

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