Calhoun County has been welcoming visitors to its shores since 1519 when Spanish explorer Alonzo Alvarez de Peneda cruised through its seven bays. In February 1685, LaSalle landed on the shore of Matagorda Bay near the present site of the old town of Indianola and established the first French fort in Texas, calling it Fort St Louis. One of his four ships, the LaBelle, was recently discovered in Matagorda Bay. Its excavation process brought thousands of visitors to witness this unique moment in history. It is believed that his other ships still remain, buried beneath the waters of the bay.

The Calhoun County Museum is located at 301 S Ann in Port Lavaca. You can reach them by phone at 361/553-4689 or on the Web. Come explore:

• The lives of the Karannkawa Indians,
• The story of the ill-fated trip of Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle (The French explorer who came to find a river and found only misfortune.)
• The Spanish determination to keep the French from the Gulf of Mexico,
• The rise and fall of Indianola, the port that became a ghost town,
• The history of the Lighthouse at Pass Cavallo and the halfmoon Reef Lighthouse almost lost to WWII, and
• The history of a town that grew out of an attack on Linnville, a town four miles away.

The La Salle Odyssey, a collection of items from the Belle, La Salle's ship found in Matagorda Bay in 1995 is our newest permanent exhibition. The La Salle Odyssey is composed of a coalition of organizations from six counties in Texas who have come together to tell the story of Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle. Each organization tells its unique portion of a tale of the misadventure of La Salle and his colonists. The loss of his ships, his men, his fort and finally his life at the hands of his own me. Start at any museum and follow the tragic tale as it unfolds, from the first landing in Matagorda to the excavation of the Belle.

• Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History
• Museum of the Coastal Bend
• Matagorda County Museum
• La Petite Belle, 361/972-3960
• Palacios Area Historical Association, 979/972-2270
• Texana Museum, 361/782-5431
• Texas Maritime Museum

Port Lavaca, the county seat, is located near the center point of the 375-mile Texas Gulf coast and provides a coastal retreat to many of the urban areas of Texas. More than half of the surface area of Calhoun County (500 miles of shoreline) is covered with water offering fresh seafood, gulf and bay beaches and cool sea breezes.

Halfmoon Reef Lighthouse, the historic landmark located next to the Bauer Community Center near the Lavaca Bay Causeway in Port Lavaca, was built on Matagorda Bay in 1598. during the War Between the States it was used for the benefit of Blockade runners.

Historic "Old Indianola" offers a splendid abundance of German history and old cemeteries. It was at one time one of the largest shipping ports in the nation.

Port O'Connor, a fishing settlement laid out in the late 19th century was originally called Alligator Head. Its heyday spanned the ten years from 1909 to 1919, resulting in growth that has yet to be matched. Excursion trains ran on weekends, and an estimated 10,000 tourists came every summer.

Seadrift is a quaint fishing and shrimping community nestled along the shores of beautiful San Antonio Bay. This small, bustling city, otherwise know as "City of Murals" is a perfect place to relax and get away from it all.

Olivia, a Swedish settlement founded in the late 1800's was names after the wife of the man who purchased the land. It was a favored camping place of the Carancahua Indians.

Point Comfort, originally called "Cox's Point," was the location of the Port where repairs were made to Spanish ships with oak and cedar from the Garcitas Creek area. The early records kept at Cox's Point help us learn about the earliest trade and commerce on Matagorda Bay.