Downtown Rockport Historical Walk
A century and a half of Texas history in six walkable blocks
Start at the harbor and walk through the heart of historic Rockport — past the site of the grand Aransas Hotel, down Live Oak Street past three 19th-century churches, and through the Victorian residential district along Broadway and Magnolia. Every block has a story from the 1870s through Hurricane Harvey.
★ Tour Highlights
- ✓Site of the Aransas Hotel — a 100-room resort destroyed by fire in 1919
- ✓Three original churches built in the 1870s–1890s
- ✓The Rockport Pilot building — Texas oldest continuously published coastal newspaper
- ✓San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railroad depot site
- ✓Victorian-era homes of the fishing and shipping industry founders
Tour Stops
Rockport Pilot, The
Historical Marker1002 Wharf Street
Start here — the Rockport Pilot building marks the original newspaper founded in 1880. Face the harbor.
San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad in Rockport, The
Historical Marker105 S. Magnolia Street
Walk one block west to S. Magnolia. The railroad that connected Rockport to San Antonio arrived in 1887, transforming the town.
Site of Aransas Hotel
Historical MarkerWalk to the corner of Austin and Main. The Aransas Hotel once covered this entire block — 100 rooms, 200-seat dining room, orchestra, yacht tours.
Aransas County
Historical Marker301 N. Live Oak
The Aransas County Courthouse grounds. The county was carved from Refugio County in 1871 with Rockport as county seat.
First Presbyterian Church of Rockport
Historical Marker514 N. Live Oak Street
514 N. Live Oak — First Presbyterian Church, organized 1882. Note the architectural detail that survived the 1919 hurricane.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Historical Marker704 Cornwall Street
704 Cornwall Street — Sacred Heart Catholic Church, established 1880.
First Baptist Church of Rockport
Historical Marker1515 N. Live Oak
1515 N. Live Oak — First Baptist Church, organized 1873. One of the original three Rockport congregations.
Hoopes-Smith House
Historical Marker417 N. Broadway
417 N. Broadway — Hoopes-Smith House, 1880s. One of several Victorian homes that define the Broadway residential corridor.
Fulton-Bruhl House
Historical Marker409 N. Broadway
409 N. Broadway — Fulton-Bruhl House. Note how close the two homes are — this was a tightly knit neighborhood of town founders.
Baylor-Norvell House
Historical Marker617 S. Water Street
End at 617 S. Water Street — the Baylor-Norvell House (c. 1868), one of the oldest surviving structures in Rockport, right on the waterfront.
Tour Details
- Type
- historical
- Transport
- Walking Tour
- Duration
- 1h 30min
- Distance
- 1.5 miles
- Difficulty
- easy
- Cost
- Free
Make a Weekend of It
Rockport has all four tours plus guided boat tours and 35 birding sites. Stay a few days and explore it all.
