Tarpon Inn

In 1886 Frank Stephenson, a boat pilot and assistant Aransas lighthouse keeper, opened an inn at this site in an old barracks. He called the facility "Tarpon Inn" for the abundant trophy fish in nearby gulf waters. The Inn served as a landmark for sailors, and Port Aransas was known for a time as "Tarpon". In 1897 Mary Cotter and her son J.E. Bought the two story inn from Stephenson. After the building burned in 1900, two new structures were built in 1904. When the 1919 hurricane destroyed the main structure, the dining facility was used until it was sold in 1923 to James M. Ellis and his wife. Ellis soon rebuilt this inn to resemble the old barracks. He placed 20-foot poles in 16 feet of concrete with pilings at the corner of each room to reinforce it against future hurricanes. For a time guests could reach the inn only by boat. It became a tradition to sign and date a Tarpon scale and place it on the wall in the front room. Among the famous patrons was president Franklin D. Roosevelt who fished here in 1937. Duncan Hines spent his honeymoon here and recommended the food for the next 25 years. The inn has housed many area residents during storms and served as headquarters for the Red Cross, Salvation Army and Military units.

Tarpon Inn is a historical marker in Port Aransas, Nueces County, dedicated in 1979. It is one of 105 historical markers documented in Nueces County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 147 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 27.8378, -97.0602 near Port Aransas. The nearest cataloged historic site is Mustang Island (historical marker), about 0.2 miles away. Others within a short drive include Port Aransas Museum, The Mercer Family on Mustang Island, and Mercer.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5355005194. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.