Gilchrist (Texas)

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Gilchrist was a civil parish and seaside resort on Texas State Route 87 , about 17 miles east of Bolivar Point on the Bolivar Peninsula in Galveston County , Texas.

In the 1990 and 2000 censuses , the place had a permanent population of around 750 people, while many more people lived here during the holiday season. When Hurricane Ike hit the peninsula on September 13, 2008 , about a thousand permanent residents lived in the settlement, but Gilchrist was subject to an evacuation order .

history

The settlement got its name after Gibb Gilchrist (1887-1972) who rebuilt the railway line from High Island to Port Bolivar after the devastating hurricane of 1915. Before that, the place was called Rollover .

In 1950 a post office was opened in Gilchrist. A hallmark of the settlement is Rollover Pass , which divides both the Bolivar Peninsula and Gilchrist and serves the exchange of water between the East Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. This spot is popular with sport fishermen. Rollover Pass was a natural passage that was closed until 1955. It was then restored by the Texas Game and Fish Commission as part of nature conservation and to improve the living conditions of fish and game in the bay.

Hurricane Ike

On September 13, 2008 Gilchrist was devastated by Hurricane Ike , with the building stock being almost completely destroyed with the exception of a few houses. The coastline in the Gilchrist area was indented by coastal erosion . The storm surge caused by Ike has permanently changed the appearance of the coastline.

NOAA aerial photographs revealed the almost complete destruction of Gilchrist. In total, only a handful of houses survived the storm.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Gilchrist, Texas ( English ) In: Handbook of Texas Online . Texas State Historical Association. February 21, 2002. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
  2. ↑ a b c Tim Heller, KTRK Chief Meteorologist: Ike's Aftermath from the Sky ( English ) KTRK TV abc13.com. See section about Gilchrist. September 15, 2008. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
  3. ↑ Gibb Gilchrist ( English ) In: Handbook of Texas Online . Texas State Historical Association. January 17, 2008. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
  4. ↑ Matthew Tresaugue: For some on coastline, rebuilding may not be an option ( English ) Houston Chronicle . September 15, 2008. Archived from the original on October 21, 2008. Retrieved on December 31, 2010.
  5. ↑ Jason Hanna: Their house survived Ike, but it's the only one left - CNN.com ( English ) CNN . September 19, 2008. Retrieved October 21, 2008.

Coordinates: 29 ° 31 ′  N , 94 ° 29 ′  W