where is port lavaca tx?
United States of America Texas Calhoun County
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 Lavaca Bay ( / ləvˈɑːkə / ) is a northwestern extension of the Matagorda Bay system found mostly in Calhoun County , Texas , United States . The ports of Port Lavaca and Point Comfort have been established on the bay , and are the main areas of human habitation . Linnville was located on the bay until its abandonment after the Great Raid of 1840 , and the major port of Indianola was found near the confluence with the main Matagorda Bay , until the town 's final destruction following the massive hurricane of 1886 . Smaller communities include Olivia , Alamo Beach and Magnolia Beach . Lavaca Bay is approximately 82 miles ( 130 km ) northeast of Corpus Christi , about 121 miles ( 190 km ) southwest of Houston , and 145 miles ( 230 km ) southeast of San Antonio . 

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 Lavaca Bay was formed when the sea level rose following the last ice age , flooding the Lavaca River @-@ Garcitas Creek basin . The name comes from the Spanish adaptation of the French vache or cow , given to the area by French explorer René @-@ Robert Cavelier , Sieur de La Salle for the sightings of Plains Bison , which were once common near the bay and the creeks that feed it . It is believed La Salle established his Fort St. Louis colony near the bay on Garcitas Creek . The first sizable human settlement on the bay shore was at the town of New Port , established in 1831 by Irish merchant John J. Linn as part of De León 's colony . The site was later renamed Linnville , and grew to a population of 200 by 1839 . It was described as " a place of considerable business " in Sketches of Texas in 1840 , and was used extensively during the early years of the Republic of Texas . Future San Antonio Mayor Samuel Maverick owned a warehouse in the town , along with many other prominent Texans . The town was destroyed during the Great Raid of 1840 , orchestrated by the Comanche Indians , and was later abandoned . 

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 Port Lavaca or Labaca , developed after the abandonment of Linnville . It grew substantially following the destruction of Indianola , and became a prominent shipping location and national leader in shrimp production . Across the bay and currently connected by Texas State Highway 35 , the town of Point Comfort is found . It was incorporated in 1953 at a citywide vote and is known for its large aluminium and petrochemical plants built in the 1960s . The small town of Olivia , which was founded in 1892 as a Swedish Lutheran community , is located on the shores of Keller Bay . The unincorporated towns of Alamo Beach , established around 1900 , and Magnolia Beach , founded sometime thereafter , and named for the Magnolia figs produced in the area , are found north of the remains of the ghost town of Indianola . 

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 Several land grants were handed out by the Spanish government for ranching near the lagoon . The first was believed to have been given to José Nicolás Cabazos in 1792 , which included 500 @,@ 000 acres ( 2 @,@ 000 km2 ) in the area south of Baffin Bay to the Rio Grande . Cabazos stocked the land with 900 cattle . American ranching settlements developed following the Mexican War , including the King Ranch , which was established in 1847 by Richard King . The area near present @-@ day Port Isabel was used as a resort for Spaniards after watersellers came ashore in the late 18th century looking for freshwater supplies . A settlement known as Point Isabel was established at the location in the 1830s , and in 1853 , the Point Isabel Lighthouse was constructed to overlook the lagoon . The city was named Port Isabel in 1928 , and in 1954 , the Queen Isabella Causeway , the longest bridge in Texas , was constructed across Laguna Madre to South Padre Island . A newer bridge was built in 1974 , but part of it collapsed on September 15 , 2001 after being hit by a barge , causing eight people to plunge to their deaths and significantly hindering the economy of South Texas . It was rebuilt and reopened in November of that year . Port Isabel had 4 @,@ 865 residents during the 2000 census . To the north , Port Mansfield was established in 1950 , at the old fishing community of Red Fish Landing . It was named after United States Congressman Joseph J. Mansfield ( D @-@ TX ) , who introduced the bill that extended the Intracoastal Waterway from Corpus Christi to Brownsville in the 1940s . The Port Mansfield Ship Channel was dredged in 1957 across Padre Island and redredged in 1962 after work was done to improve the jetties . The cut allows an influx of seawater into the Lower Laguna Madre to improve the fishing and shipping industry of Port Mansfield . The community had 415 residents in 2000 . 

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 As a result of the destruction from the war , the new ports of Fulton and Rockport were developed in the later 1860s . At first , Rockport was intended as a deep @-@ water port , but after a series of mishaps , Aransas Pass was selected when deepening was approved in 1879 . By 1912 , a 100 feet wide and 8 ½ feet deep channel was operational . After hurricanes ransacked the port in 1916 and 1919 , the United States Army Corps of Engineers chose Corpus Christi as the preferred deepwater port for the lower Gulf coast . 
