Indianola: The Calhoun County Port That Two Hurricanes Erased

German settlers came to Indian Point on Matagorda Bay in 1844. The town that grew there was called Indianola. It quickly became one of the busiest ports on the Gulf of Mexico. Ships brought immigrants heading into Texas. Army supply wagons rolled out along the Chihuahua Trail to supply frontier forts. In 1869 the first mechanically refrigerated beef shipment in American history left from Indianola.

A hurricane hit in September 1875. Only eight buildings were left undamaged. Between 150 and 300 people were killed. Survivors rebuilt, but the town never fully recovered. Then a second storm hit in August 1886. A fire came with it. Together they finished off the town. The site was abandoned by 1887. Port Lavaca, which had been the county seat before Indianola, took the title back in 1887.

Today almost nothing is left above ground. Erosion has pushed much of the old townsite under Matagorda Bay. A granite historical marker on the shore marks about where the old courthouse stood. The Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas has a full account of the town and both storms.