Port Sullivan - Texas Ghost Town

PORT SULLIVAN

NAME: Port Sulliivan
COUNTY: Milam
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 3
CLIMATE: Warm winter, hot summer
BEST TIME TO VISIT:Winter, spring, fall

COMMENTS: Old Steamboat port.
REMAINS: Some of the concrete locks.

In an unsuccessful effort to make the Brazos River navigable to Waco, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers early in the 1900s constructed concrete locks immediately downstream from the site of Port Sullivan. The founders of Port Sullivan expected the town to become primarily a river port, but even in the best of years it was accessible by steamers only during periods of high water and never became a regular port of call. The town survived the Civil War only to die during Reconstruction. Here again is the affect of railroads on the survival of growing towns. All the tracks being laid during the time following the Civil War missed the town. Other nearby communities gaining rail connections flourished while Port Sullivan perished. The never used locks still stand as a reminder of the river port that completely disappeared. SUBMITTED BY: Henry Chenoweth

In an unsuccessful effort to make the Brazos River navigable to Waco, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers early in the 1900s constructed concrete locks immediately downstream from the site of Port Sullivan. The founders of Port Sullivan expected the town to become primarily a river port, but even in the best of years it was accessible by steamers only during periods of high water and never became a regular port of call. The town survived the Civil War only to die during Reconstruction. Here again is the affect of railroads on the survival of growing towns. All the tracks being laid during the time following the Civil War missed the town. Other nearby communities gaining rail connections flourished while Port Sullivan perished. The never used locks still stand as a reminder of the river port that completely disappeared. SUBMITTED BY: Henry Chenoweth

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