Smith Point 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 ...
in
Chambers County,
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.
[ According to the ]Handbook of Texas
The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...
, the community had a population of 150 in 2000.Greater Houston
Greater Houston, designated by the Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, is the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical ...
metro area.
History
En route to fortifying the unrest-plagued town at Atascosito in 1805, Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
troops made landfall there. The area was most likely named in honor of John Smith, who in 1827 signed a petition denouncing Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
for refusing to award land claimants in the Atascosito district title. In 1876, the Smith Point post office opened for business. Before the invention of the vehicle, Smith Point inhabitants relied mostly on water transportation for their travels. The 1930s saw about fifty people living at Smith Point. Before oil was discovered in 1944, the main sources of income for the local population were ranching and fishing. Since then, a large number of offshore and onshore oil and gas wells have been drilled. The bayfront community was identified in 1986 by several houses, summer cottages, oil and gas wells, and small fishing businesses, despite the post office closing in 1943. The population was 150 in 1990. In 2000, the population did not change.broad-winged hawk
The broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') is a medium-sized hawk of the genus '' Buteo''. During the summer, some subspecies are distributed over eastern North America, as far west as British Columbia and Texas; they then migrate south to wi ...
s and other bird species. It is also home to the Candy Cain Abshier Wildlife Management Area.Candy Cain Abshier WMA
Retrieved February 19, 2019.
Geography
Smith Point is located on
Farm to Market Road 562 and overlooks
East Bay
The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Wi ...
and
Trinity Bay, southwest of
Beaumont, southeast of
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 ...
, and south of
Anahuac in southern Chambers County.
It is also from
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 ...
.
Education
Anahuac Independent School District operates schools in the area.
See also
*
USS Granite City
References
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Chambers County, Texas
Unincorporated communities in Texas
Galveston Bay Area
Greater Houston