Port Bolivar, Texas
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Port Bolivar (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is an unincorporated community located on the northern shore of the western tip of the Bolivar Peninsula, separated from Galveston Island by the entrance to Galveston Bay. The Bolivar Peninsula itself is a census-designated place, in Galveston County, Texas, United States, and part of the Template:Nowrap metropolitan area. The entire peninsula was severely damaged during Hurricane Ike on September 13, 2008;<ref name="LATimes2008">Template:Cite news</ref> re-building efforts were still continuing as late as 2013.<ref> Template:Cite news</ref>
The US Census does not consider Port Bolivar as a separate community, so any population numbers are estimates from unofficial sources. The estimate suggested by City-Data was 1,349 as of 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> One real estate site suggested 1,477 as of 2014,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while another indicated 1,907 as of July 1, 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The community is home to the historic Bolivar Lighthouse, which once guided ships entering Galveston Bay.
History
In 1819, James Long based his operations in the area where Port Bolivar would eventually be located.<ref name="Tx Historical">Template:Cite web</ref> Undeterred by the Spanish presence, Long quickly began raising money to equip a second expedition to revitalize the failed republic of Texas. He joined refugees from the first expedition on the Bolivar Peninsula in April 1820, bringing his pregnant wife Jane and 300 troops. Though Long restored elements of the former government, the expedition stalled for more than a year as men began to desert. On October 4, 1821, Long and his troops seized Presidio La Bahía, but Spanish troops forced the expedition to surrender four days later
In 1838, Samuel D Parr surveyed the land, and it was granted to him by the Republic of Texas, to be called Parrsville.<ref name="Tx Historical"/> It changed hands as Archibald Wynns and William Lawrence bought the land and developed it.<ref name="Tx Historical"/> The land was later bought by a company and renamed to Port Bolivar in 1893.<ref name="Tx Historical"/>
Fort Travis is on the southern shore of the Bolivar Peninsula, adjacent to Port Bolivar. Originally the site of the Confederate Fort Green, with a different Fort Travis located on Galveston Island,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> this Fort Travis started construction in 1898 and adopted the name from the Galveston Island fort. The new fort had its own railroad spur.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The 1915 Galveston hurricane damaged Port Bolivar, and its port was mostly not rebuilt.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Until the Second World War, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway served the length of the peninsula, extending as far west as Port Bolivar, and provided a ferry service to Galveston for railcars. In 1942, the rail service was cut back to High Island, Template:Convert east, where the Bolivar Peninsula expands onto the full mainland. The rails on the Bolivar Peninsula were scrapped for the war effort.
After Hurricane Ike, the United States Postal Service temporarily relocated Port Bolivar post office box services to Winnie, Template:Convert north of High Island.<ref>"Postal Service Relocates Services, Deploys Portable Buildings Template:Webarchive." United States Postal Service. September 18, 2008. Retrieved on April 7, 2009.</ref>
In 1968, filming began in Port Bolivar on the made-for-television movie, My Sweet Charlie. Starring Patty Duke and Al Freeman Jr., the film focused on the grudging friendship that develops between two fugitives; an outcast, pregnant young white woman, and a black lawyer accused of murder. The actors themselves were targeted for harassment by some local residents, and filming was plagued with problems until then-governor, John Connally, intervened and worked with local authorities to stop harassment of the production company and the actors.
Transportation
Ferry service is provided by the Texas Department of Transportation between Port Bolivar and Galveston. The Galveston-Port Bolivar ferry<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> can accommodate vehicles as heavy as 80,000 pounds, and as long as 65 feet, as high as 13.5 feet and as wide as 8.5 feet.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The ferry was closed because of Hurricane Ike<ref name="LATimes2008" /> but re-opened on November 11, 2008.<ref>Paschenko, Chris. "Rebuilding peninsula a long, arduous process." Galveston County Daily News. November 27, 2008.</ref>
Education
Port Bolivar residents are zoned to Galveston Independent School District schools.<ref name=oldbolivar>"schools." Galveston Independent School District. April 22, 2001. Retrieved on January 5, 2015. "Bolivar School Madison Avenue Pt. Bolivar, TX "</ref><ref>"SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Galveston County, TX." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 4, 2015.</ref>
Residents attend Crenshaw Elementary and Middle School for grades Pre-K3 through 8 on the peninsula. Residents attend Ball High School in Galveston.<ref>"attendance zones" (Archive). Galveston Independent School District. January 5, 2015. "GISD students residing on the Bolivar Peninsula attend Bolivar School for grades K-8 and Ball High School for grades 9-12."</ref> Template:As of there are no particular attendance boundaries in GISD so parents may apply to any school they wish, but only Bolivar Peninsula residents may have school bus service to Crenshaw K-8.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Crenshaw school was located in Port Bolivar until it was damaged by Hurricane Ike.<ref name=oldbolivar/> A resident of Crystal Beach, Template:Convert east of Port Bolivar, donated land there for a new Crenshaw campus,<ref>Thompson, Carter. "Board sets aside money for work on new school" (Archive). The Galveston County Daily News. February 27, 2003. Retrieved on January 5, 2015. "District staff also has settled on a site — a piece of land in Crystal Beach that the owner has offered to donate to the district."</ref> which opened in 2005.<ref>"&NodeID=80 Crenshaw School ProfileTemplate:Dead link." Galveston Independent School District. Retrieved on November 30, 2008.</ref>
Galveston ISD (and therefore Port Bolivar) is assigned to Galveston College in Galveston.<ref>Texas Education Code, Section 130.179, "Galveston College District Service Area Template:Webarchive".</ref>
Parks and recreation
The Galveston County Department of Parks & Cultural Services, that includes Senior Services, operates the Bolivar Community Center, 1802 Madison Avenue, the Fort Travis Seashore Park at 900 State Highway 87, and the Pilsner Boat Ramp.<ref>Galveston County Department of Parks & Cultural Services. Retrieved on July 12, 2019.</ref>
Postal service
The United States Postal Service operates the Post Office at 2500 Broadway Avenue, Port Bolivar, TX 77650 - 0736.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There is no home delivery on the Bolivar peninsula, only rural delivery.
Religion
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston maintains the nearby Our Lady By The Sea Chapel and Catholic Center in Crystal Beach.<ref name=LomaxBolivarChurches>Template:Cite web</ref> Its service area is the entire peninsula. This site is a part of the Holy Family Parish, which has other sites on Galveston Island.<ref name=KTRKCathGalvcons>Template:Cite web</ref>
Our Mother of Mercy Church established circa 1950, was previously in Port Bolivar. John Nova Lomax of the Houston Press wrote that the church "was the site of many marriages and funerals for generations of Bolivarians."<ref name=LomaxBolivarChurches/> It closed after Hurricane Ike in 2008.<ref name=KTRKCathGalvcons/> At the end of its life, its congregation numbered 75, although in summer months vacationers also attended church there. Lomax described it as "a dowdy, declining parish".<ref name=LomaxOurMother>Template:Cite web</ref> Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza had it razed, despite the lack of damage from the hurricane.<ref name=LomaxBolivarChurches/> The archdiocese argued that keeping the structure would cause further expenses, and that future weather issues could damage the building.<ref name=KTRKCathGalvcons/> Lomax wrote "the archdiocese viewed the church as old and in the way".<ref name=LomaxOurMother/>
Between Hurricane Ike and the opening of Our Lady by the Sea, Bolivar residents attended church in Galveston or in Winnie. John Nova Lomax of the Houston Press wrote that the Our Lady church, dedicated in 2010 and on the site of the former St Therese of Lisieux, "effectively consolidates [St Therese of Lisieux in Crystal Beach] and [Our Mother of Mercy]".<ref name=LomaxBolivarChurches/> Residents opposed to the demolition of Our Mother of Mercy expressed a negative reception to the opening of Our Lady by the Sea.<ref name=LomaxBolivarChurches/>
References
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