Seadrift

Duane's take

The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just along for the ride — here's the story of Seadrift. Now picture this: you've crossed an ocean, you've landed at Indianola on the Texas Gulf Coast sometime in the 1840s, and somewhere between the ship and wherever you were supposed to be going, you just... stopped. That's how settlement here began — German immigrants disembarking at Indianola, staying in the vicinity, putting down roots in the sandy soil along the shore.

For a good long while, though, the place didn't even have a proper name to answer to. Then came 1888, and with it a post office. The name they settled on?

Seadrift. Inspired by the debris that collected on the shore, blown in by heavy storms rolling off the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf has a way of making itself known, and apparently it made itself known enough to name a town.

Things really started movin' in 1912, when a man named A. D. Powers founded the Seadrift Townsite Company.

By December of that same year, the city was incorporated. And if you think that was just a quiet little village content to stay small — well, hold on. By 1914, Seadrift had three churches, two banks, four hotels, factories, a telephone line, and a weekly newspaper.

They called that paper The Seadrift Success. Now that's either confidence or prophecy, and maybe a little of both. Then came 1919.

A severe hurricane hit. The kind of storm the Gulf sends when it wants to remind you who's really in charge. But Seadrift survived.

The city survived. That right there is worth saying twice. Beginning in the 1950s, processing plants were established in the area, adding another layer to what the town had become.

And today, the village of Seadrift continues as a popular resort and recreation spot on that same stretch of Texas coastline. Debris blown ashore, a name, a newspaper called The Success, and a hurricane that didn't finish the job. Some towns earn their names the hard way.

What the marker says

Settlement here began in the 1840s when German immigrants disembarking at Indianola stayed in the vicinity. A post office was granted in 1888, its name inspired by debris that collected on the shore blown in by heavy storms from the Gulf of Mexico. In 1912 A. D. Powers founded the Seadrift Townsite Company, and the city was incorporated that December. By 1914 Seadrift had 3 churches, 2 banks, 4 hotels, factories, a telephone line, and a weekly newspaper called The Seadrift Success. Despite a severe 1919 hurricane, the city survived. Processing plants were established in the area beginning in the 1950s. The village of Seadrift continues to be a popular resort and recreation spot. (1998)