High Island is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

located in the

Bolivar Peninsula Bolivar Peninsula ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Galveston County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,769 at the 2020 census. The communities of Port Bolivar, Crystal Beach, Caplen, Gilchrist, and High Island are located o ...

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

Galveston County Galveston County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located along the Gulf Coast adjacent to Galveston Bay. As of the 2020 census, its population was 350,682. The county was founded in 1838. The county seat is the City of Galveston, ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. The community is located in the extreme eastern part of the county on

, less than one mile from Chambers County and less than two miles from Jefferson County. , 500 people resided in High Island. The 2010 census did not record a population for High Island.
Houston Audubon
operates four bird sanctuaries in the area, and the community is globally famous destination for

birdwatchers Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...

particularly during spring migration from April 1 to May 15. Sea Rim State Park is in nearby Jefferson County, but it is inaccessible by State Highway 87, which has been closed since 1990.

History

High Island once had a large number of producing oil wells and was served by the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway's branch line to Port Bolivar. Following the 1942 abandonment of trackage on the Bolivar Peninsula, High Island became the new terminus of the line until Santa Fe Railway removed its bobtail-truss swing bridge over Mud Bayou in 1969. In the early 1970s, several victims of serial killer

Dean Corll Dean Arnold Corll (December 24, 1939 – August 8, 1973) was an American serial killer and sex offender who Kidnapping, abducted, raped, tortured and murdered a minimum of twenty-nine teenage boys and young men between 1970 and 1973 in Houston ...

were buried by him and his accomplices at High Island's beach. Six bodies were recovered by law enforcement personnel in August 1973, while one remains undiscovered. In 1986, Hurricane Bonnie made landfall near High Island. And in 2007,

Hurricane Humberto The name Humberto has been used for five tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean. The name replaced List of storms named Hugo, Hugo, which was retired after the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season, 1989 season. * Hurricane Humberto (1995) – reached ...

made landfall near High Island as well. 2008 saw

Hurricane Ike Hurricane Ike () was a powerful tropical cyclone that swept through portions of the Greater Antilles and Northern America in September 2008, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture, particularly in Cuba and Texas. Ike took a sim ...

impact High Island with significant storm surge and winds up to 110 mph (178 km/h). After Hurricane Ike the United States Postal Service temporarily relocated High Island post office box services to Winnie, Texas.

Geography

High Island lies on the eastern side of

Galveston Bay Galveston Bay ( ) is a bay in the western Gulf of Mexico along the upper coast of Texas. It is the seventh-largest estuary in the United States, and the largest of seven major estuaries along the Texas Gulf Coast. It is connected to the Gulf of ...

, just inland from the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. Located on the mainland, High Island's name comes from the large

salt dome A salt dome is a type of structural dome formed when salt (or other evaporite minerals) intrudes into overlying rocks in a process known as diapirism. Salt domes can have unique surface and subsurface structures, and they can be discovered us ...

under the area. This salt dome raises the elevation of the area to around 38 feet, giving High Island the highest elevation of any point on the Gulf coast from Mobile, Alabama to the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

. The metaphorical "island" (the term island is used to describe other Gulf Coast salt domes, such as

Avery Island Avery Island (historically ) is a salt dome best known as the source of Tabasco sauce. Located in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States, it is about inland from Vermilion Bay, which opens onto the Gulf of Mexico. A small human population li ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

) has often served to protect its residents from the effects of

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

. The main route from

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

to High Island is to travel along

Interstate 45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. While most primary Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, ...

to Galveston, take the ferry to

Port Bolivar Port Bolivar ( ) is an unincorporated community located on the northern shore of the western tip of the Bolivar Peninsula, separated from Galveston Island by the entrance to Galveston Bay. The Bolivar Peninsula itself is a census-designated pl ...

, and then travel east to High Island.

Education

The High Island Independent School District serves the community. High Island ISD is assigned to

Galveston College Galveston College (GC) is a public community college in Galveston, Texas. History On November 2, 1935, voters approved the creation of the Galveston Junior College District. However, a subsequent 1936 election to support the new district via ...

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

.Texas Education Code, Section 130.179,
Galveston College District Service Area
".

Birding tourism

Houston Audubon
has 4 sanctuaries at High Island

an

Boy Scout Woods is the headquarters, which is staffed by volunteers during peak spring migration season from mid-March to mid-May. Smith Oaks is the largest sanctuary and home to th

High Island, with its substantial wooded areas unlike elsewhere on the upper Texas coast, is a natural refuge for migrating birds making their perilous way across the Gulf of Mexico from the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico into their northern summering grounds in the United States and Canada. During this spring migration, the birds must navigate the hundreds of miles of overwater flight to find refuge and food on their journey northward. During a normal spring migration, birders from around the world can find concentrated and high numbers of species of migratory birds in High Island that winter in southern Mexico, Central America, and South America, and make their summer breeding homes in the north. The most spectacular bird viewing is during a spring northerly storm, which causes a "fall out" at High Island. During these storms, the migrating birds encounter strong head winds and a prolonged and energy-draining flight over the Gulf. Every bird that comes off the Gulf near High Island is then exhausted, and immediately seeks a dry land perch. In such conditions, the beaches of the Bolivar Peninsula can be covered with tens of thousands of birds. With its wooded areas and more ample feeding opportunities, almost every tree and open space in High Island is covered with exhausted birds. Fall southerly migration also concentrates along the Gulf at sites such as High Island, but is more dispersed as the southerly moving birds find ample cover and food as they move southward through the United States.

References

External links

Houston Audubon - High Island
* {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Galveston County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas Greater Houston Populated coastal places in Texas