The Texas City economy has long been based on heavy industry, particularly shipping at the Port of Texas City, as well as petroleum and petrochemical refining. Red means the beach failed water quality tests 40% of the time or more. The government also funded construction of a petrochemical plant to make styrene monomer, a vital raw material for synthetic rubber. As of 2010[update], SSA Marine Company had plans to build a major new cargo container shipping terminal known as the Texas City International Terminal at Shoal Point. Texas Citys 50,000+ residents are active in the community, participating in festivals, charity events, and outdoor activities at the Texas City Dike and the Bayou Golf Course. [7], The Great Depression and competition caused the sugar refinery to fail in 1930. David Garcia. Texas City Dike The Texas City Dike juts out into Galveston Bay on the easternmost end of Texas City. [6] Port growth progressed rapidly after this, from 12 ships in 1904, to 239 in 1910. Also, by the morning of Monday, September 15, the American Red Cross had opened a relief and material distribution center in the city. The City of Texas City and the Works Progress Administration continued to patch the dike, at times filling in eroded areas with scrap automobile bodies, rock, broken brick, and waste from the city dump in an attempt to break wave action and prevent further erosion to the dike, but their efforts were only temporarily successful. [6] Three more refineries soon followed, making Texas City a major port for deepwater shipping of Texas petroleum products to the Atlantic Coast. Upon completion, it will provide 4,500 new homes. The festivities kick-off with a parade at 10 a.m. 409 6th St N, Texas City, TX 77590-7854 Full view Best nearby Restaurants 63 within 3 miles Wrice Barbecue 4 0.1 miAmerican Barbecue Dike Dogs 1 0.2 miAmerican Terraza Mexican Bar and Grill 25 0.4 mi$$ - $$$ Mexican Southwestern Pub See all Attractions 8 within 6 miles Texas City Memorial Cemetery 1 Although the Texas City Dike remained structurally intact and was cleared of debris immediately after the storm, the recreation and business facilities were washed away by the storm surge. The city has often referred to itself as "the town that would not die," a moniker whose accuracy would be tested once again in the days surrounding Hurricane Ike's assault on the region early on September 13, 2008. 1 Texas City Dike Rd Texas City, TX 77590 Get directions You Might Also Consider Sponsored Windward SeaVenture 5 13.7 miles away from The Texas City Dike Wendy R. said "I booked a dinner cruise for my Fianc's 40th birthday and was not disappointed. Enter Dates. The Texas City Dike is especially popular for those looking to fish or boat. The dike currently boasts four boat ramps, ten concrete picnic shelters and one wheelchair accessible pier. Fishing spots, fishing reports and regulations in. Stay alert and check for other swimming hazards such as dangerous currents and tides. If I am new resident to Texas City, how can I receive my stickers? Independent Athletic Leagues / Organizations, Running water to 2 boat ramps for fishing/cleaning tables, Currently has four boat ramps (the Samson/Yarbrough is the busiest boat ramp in the Galveston Bay area) providing the second-busiest boat launch area in Texas and two more boat ramps as of winter 2010/2011, Is roughly 5.3 miles long with an asphalt road 24 feet wide and 12 feet of shoulders on either side of improved crushed gravel, Has been advertised as the longest man-made pier. The city installed solar-powered lights and performed additional repairs on piers and ramps with the assistance of a grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The Galveston County Model Railroad Club exhibit on the second floor is open on Saturdays. The nearby city of . A golden black drum Jacob Saldana told KPRC 2 he caught along the Texas City Dike on Monday, March 14, 2022. The entire Texas City and Port Terminal Fire departments were wiped out.[7]. The Texas City Dike is the longest man-made fishing pier in the world, stretching 5.3 miles into Galveston Bay. Subsequent to the storm, Galveston County signed over all rights and ownership of any easements and rights to the road to the City of Texas City. Amenities at this beach area include picnic areas, fishing pier, portable restrooms, and boat ramps. There are over 4,000 manufacturing and petrochemical jobs in Texas City. When swimming season is over or when a beach's water quality data has not been updated frequently enough (weekly) it goes into historical status. Three duck hunters in 1891 noted that a location along Galveston Bay, known locally as Shoal Point, had the potential to become a major port. It was hoped that the dike, Texas City's primary defense against potential encroachment of water from Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, would lessen or even entirely deflect substantial damage to the city from such a potentially cataclysmic event. The TCISD intermediate school, Levi Fry Intermediate, provides for fifth and sixth graders, and one TCISD middle school, Blocker Middle School, provides for seventh and eighth graders. We'll send you a couple of emails per month, filled with fascinating history facts that you can share with your friends. The Historical Markers Database. In order to meet the growing residential demand, a 2,033 acre master planned community is being developed. Residents of Texas City are given tags to enter the dike via automobile for free, while visitors outside the city must pay a $10 entry fee between 6 am and 9 pm during the summer months. There are no published events in current month. The dike, whose construction was authorized by the Texas State Legislature in 1935, was constructed of tumbled granite blocks, ranging in size from that of a small suitcase to roughly that of a sub-compact car, with a wide paved road extending its entire length. The Texas General Land Office (GLO) administers the Texas Beach Watch Program.Samples are collected weekly during the peak beach season from May through September and every other week from October through April. A detailed fishing report for the Texas City Dike will make the difference between a good fishing here and a bad one. Is it $10 per person or vehicle on weekends during the summer? On October 30, 1987, a crane at the Marathon Oil refinery accidentally dropped its load on a tank of liquid hydrogen fluoride, causing a release of 36,000 pounds (16,000kg) of hydrogen fluoride gas and requiring 3,000 residents to be evacuated.[9]. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.13. Prior to its closure after Hurricane Ike, the Dike's Samson-Yarbrough ramp was the busiest on Galveston Bay (Aulds, 2010), and the dike as a whole was the second-busiest boat launch site in the state. Probably the best day I've had at the Texas city dike. Accessed February 29, 2012. It rests on a "Texas-shaped" memorial at the entrance. As the TCIC, the TCC, and TCRTC expanded, urbanization expanded. As a result, Texas City Police Chief Joe Stanton ordered the closure of the dike. We welcome new industries, entrepreneurs, national and international corporations to come to Texas City and be a part of our future. Despite these successes, the TCIC went bankrupt in 1897. The 16,715 housing units averaged 268.0/sqmi (103.5/km2). According to Texas City Police Departments Sgt. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) Unlimited access to the best fishing spot finder in the game. It is not known whether the destruction of the dike's structures occurred before, or following Ike's entrance into Galveston Bay proper at approximately 3:00a.m. Central Daylight Time on Saturday, September 13, 2008. Even in the widespread destruction throughout Galveston County caused by the wind and surge associated with Ike, Texas City was largely spared the devastation that other low-lying areas suffered. The Bay itself connects the Houston Ship Channel, one of the nation's most important commercial waterways, and the Port of Houston with the Gulf of Mexico 35 nautical miles (65km) distant. A public school was in operation by 1905, when it had an enrollment of thirty-three. These companies were chartered on February 4, 1899.[6][7]. Males had a median income of $36,463 versus $24,754 for females. [10][11] In the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB)'s final report on the accident, published in March 2007, they described the event as "one of the worst industrial disasters in recent U.S. This place is very underrated because it really holds some good fish. The EDC utilized the document as part of a Strategic Planning workshop on February 15, 2023. Shark Shack Beach Bar & Grill. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}292324.99N 945310.03W / 29.3902750N 94.8861194W / 29.3902750; -94.8861194, "Recovered from Ike, Texas City Dike reopens today", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Texas_City_Dike&oldid=1080312732. Dike Currently Exists Yes Place Type Town USGS ID 1334352 Town Fields Has post office: Yes Is Incorporated: No Belongs to Hopkins County Associated Names Booneville Rhodes Union Valley Coordinates Latitude: 33.23872400 Longitude: -95.48217400 Population Counts Adoption Status: This place is available for adoption! The rest of the park features wilderness trails and family entertainment areas.[36]. In 1977 a plan was put forth to widen the channel from 100 feet to 1,200 feet; deepen it from 34 feet to 40 feet; and widen the entrance from 250 feet to 400 feet (Vander Bosch, 1977, p.2). The Port of Texas City's success as a privately owned port has been aided by its shareholders, the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads, whose connections allow for expeditious interchange of their traffic. TCIC also received permission from the federal government to dredge an eight-foot channel in the bay from Bolivar Roads (at the east end of Galveston Island) to serve Texas City. Met water quality standards less than 60% of the time. Thank you for the support! By 1925, Texas City had an estimated population of 3,500 and was a thriving community with two refineries producing gasoline, the Texas City Sugar Refinery, two cotton compressing facilities, and even passenger bus service. After construction, material collected from dredging the Texas City Channel was repeatedly deposited on top of the timber pile dike, but it eventually washed back out into the water; to prevent this problem, the Corps added a rubble-mound formation to the supplement the existing dike in 1931 to 1932. In March weekly samples are collected for Beach Watch stations on all gulf beaches to coincide with spring break.There are three levels of advisories in Texas. TCIC eventually dredged the channel to a 40-foot depth and extended the length of the port to 1.5mi. ", Priscilla Myers Benham, "TEXAS CITY, TX," Handbook of Texas Online. Anyone interested in fishing Texas City Dike or waters within the wider area around Texas City should consult with local resources before heading out to fish. The per capita income for the city was $17,057. Written June 3, 2018. accessed April 18, 2023, Its assets were reorganized into two new companies: Texas City Company (TCC), and Texas City Railway Terminal Company (TCRTC). A $5 entry fee for non-city residents was instituted to assist in defraying the cost of maintenance and future improvements to the Dike. We may manually set the status for a specific beach if we have concerns about the sampling protocol, if there is an emergency, if monitoring practices don't exist or have recently changed, or other reasons that render this site "special.". Today, the City promotes it as the longest man-made fishing pier in the world. It is free during the winter months and summer weekdays (Mondays through Thursdays unless they are holidays). This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Allen Bjerke, the group responsible had been promoting a beach party on social media, however, they didnt have any permits for the event which caused them to cancel. The lowest level occurs when enterococcus densities are below 35 cfu (colony forming units)/100 ml. Can I buy a season pass for summer weekends when the fee is charged? Republic Oil Refinery opened a gasoline refinery in 1931. Swim Guide - Main updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. In 1934, Pan American Refinery (a subsidiary of Standard Oil Company of Indiana) began operating. Aug, 03, 2020 - Texas City Dike. Part of the park commemorates the Aero Squadron, one of the first U.S. Army air squadrons and a precursor to the modern Air Force. Texas City Dike Fishing Reports Recently shared catches and fishing spots. Book your trip now to get in on the action! By 1893, the investors had formed the Texas City Improvement Company (TCIC), which plotted and filed the townsite plan. In 1985 it comprised three churches, a post office, a business, a camp, and a population of 170. The flounder is a rapid swimmer and a good light-tackle game fish. Spring break is right around the corner and the calendar will be filling up soon! Officials force emergency closure of Texas City Dike after rowdy beachgoers arrests TEXAS CITY, Texas - The Texas City Dike was reportedly forced to have an emergency closure after. Mean Gene Kelton. Red means the water at the site has water quality issues or there is an emergency. By the end of the 1930s, Texas City's population had grown to 5,200. Texas City is home to the Texas City Dike, a man-made breakwater built of tumbled granite blocks in the 1930s, that was originally designed to protect the lower Houston Ship Channel from silting. In 1948, the library moved to a former house at 5th Street and 9th Avenue North and received its current name; it was named after Hugh Benton Moore and Helen Moore. Fishing Reports Recently shared catches and fishing spots capita income for the City promotes as... 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