Site of West Portland

The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad was built through this area in the late 1880s. In 1908 the Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company decided to encourage settlement in the area by giving 14,000 acres in its Picatche pasture to the George H. Paul Company of Iowa to sell. Paul already had established a record of bringing settlers to Texas from other parts of the United States and Canada. The company mounted a gigantic advertising campaign in the midwest, bringing in trainloads of prospective land buyers, most from Kansas, almost weekly. Some bought and leased land to tenant farmers; about twenty families moved into the area. Within a year, Mexican migrant workers had cleared the land of mesquite brush and farmers began to work the rich black soil. By 1914, a school building served the West Portland School District and the community. In addition to housing academic classes, the schoolhouse served as a community center for meetings, programs, parties, socials, receptions and suppers. Sunday School classes and worship services were held there, as well. Larger buildings were erected as needed, and one old school building was moved across the street to serve as a teacherage. In 1922, local farmers banded together to form the West Portland Gin Cooperative, which became the heart of the business district. The school was consolidated with the Taft Independent School District in 1939. Farmers sold the gin cooperative in 1970. At the end of the 20th century, the cooperative was still in operation and most of the area land was owned by descendants of the original settlers. (2000)

Site of West Portland is a historical marker in Portland, San Patricio County, dedicated in 2000. It is one of 35 historical markers documented in San Patricio County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 59 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 27.8894, -97.4096 near Portland. The nearest cataloged historic site is Site of White Point Mass Graves of 1919 Hurricane Victims (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include San Patricio Memorial Park, Rosita Cemetery, and Reef Road.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5409012184. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.