During the early days of Anglo-American colonization in Texas, the Matagorda Bay Prairie area was an important route between settlements, and a ferry was established on the Thomas Cayce league of land near this site to provide a needed river crossing. Known first as Cayce's Ferry, the site was garrisoned by a small army post. In January 1839 George Elliott (1806-1862) purchased land on the west bank of the Colorado River from Thomas Cayce, and the crossing thereafter became known as Elliott's Ferry. George Elliott was assisted by his nephews William Elliott and John Elliott, who continued the ferry business after his death. By 1863 a small settlement had grown up around Elliott's Ferry, and in 1872 a small mercantile business and a post office known as Elliott's Ferry, Texas, were in operation. In 1893 the post office name was changed to Elliott, Texas, and a year later it was moved to Bay City. In 1902 the completion of the Old River Bridge over the Colorado River two miles northwest of Bay City brought about the demise of Elliott's Ferry.