Queen Isabel Inn

Built by 1906 to lodge Rio Grande Railroad Company passengers and tourists, especially fishermen and hunters, the Queen Isabel Inn was first known as Point Isabel Tarpon & Fishing Club. It hosted family train excursions from Brownsville as early as 1907, and prominent visitors included president-elect Warren G. Harding in November 1920. By 1930, indoor plumbing, electrical service, and a popular dining room made it an attractive destination for vacationers. In the summer of 1934, the Rio Grande Valley Fishing Rodeo was organized there to promote tourism, and the hotel served as headquarters for the contest, later renamed the Texas International Fishing Tournament. Hurricanes in 1933 and 1967 removed the building's original porches and pitched roof. It also served as the site of many important civic and social events, was associated with people significant to Port Isabel's history, helped begin the area's hotel and tourism industry, and endured as an important landmark business in Port Isabel history.

Port Isabel, Texas · United States