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". The hotel hosted family train excursions from Brownsville as early as 1907. Prominent visitors to the inn included president-elect Warren G. Harding in November of 1920. By 1930, indoor plumbing, electrical service, and a popular dining room made the hotel an attractive destination for vacationers. The Rio Grande Valley Fishing Rodeo was organized here in the summer of 1934 to promote tourism. The hotel was the headquarters for the contest, later renamed the Texas International Fishing Tournament. Hurricanes in 1933 and 1967 removed the hotel's original porches and pitched roof. The hotel has served as the site for many important civic and social events and has been associated with the lives of persons significant to Port Isabel's history. The Queen Isabel Inn sparked the beginning of the hotel and tourism industry in the area and endures as an important landmark business in Port Isabel history.
Queen Isabel Inn
The roadside stories worth pulling over for.
Queen Isabel Inn is a historical marker in Port Isabel, Cameron County, dedicated in 1991. It is one of 116 historical markers documented in Cameron County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 194 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 26.0767, -97.2052 near Port Isabel. The nearest cataloged historic site is Charles Champion (historical marker), about 0.1 miles away. Others within a short drive include Point Isabel, C.S.A., Point Isabel Lighthouse, Old, and Port of Matamoros.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5061004143. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
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