DUANE
Duane's take
Here's what the official marker at this site has to say, and friend, it's quite a story to tell. There's a stretch of Calhoun County coastline where a town used to stand — a real town, a busy town, an important one. You'd never know it now.
The marker calls it the Site of the Town of Indianola, and that word site is doing a whole lot of heavy lifting. First known as Karlshaven — that's the name German immigrants gave it — it grew into one of the truly important ports of Texas. Cargoes moved through that place like breath through a body.
Goods hauled to and from points in Texas and Mexico by cart, back and forth, back and forth, until 1860, when the San Antonio and Mexico Gulf Railroad and the Indianola Railroad were both completed all the way to Victoria. The port had rails now. The future looked wide open.
And then the Gulf of Mexico cleared its throat. September 17, 1875. A hurricane came ashore and partly destroyed the town, and it took lives with it — great loss of life, the marker says, and you best sit with those words a moment.
But here's the thing about Indianola. They rebuilt. Hauled themselves up, put it back together, and carried on.
That's the kind of stubborn you have to respect. And maybe, just maybe, you start to wonder whether the Gulf noticed. August 20, 1886.
Another hurricane. And this time, Indianola was completely destroyed. Not partly.
Completely. The town that had been Karlshaven, that had been an important port, that had buried its dead and rebuilt anyway — gone. What's left is a site.
A marker. And a coastline that doesn't give anything back.
What the marker says
(1844-1886) First called by German immigrants Karlshaven, an important port of Texas. Cargoes of ships were hauled to and from points in Texas and Mexico by carts until 1860 when the San Antonio and Mexico Gulf Railroad and the Indianola Railroad were completed to Victoria. The town was partly destroyed with great loss of life by a hurricane, September 17, 1875. It was rebuilt but completely destroyed by another hurricane, August 20, 1886.