Site of Old Aurora
Port Arthur, Jefferson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Laid out in 1835 on land grant from government of Mexico to Horatio M. Hanks. At least 160 blocks were planned. After the Texas Revolution, Hanks' partner and agent Alamazon Huston sold first 15 lots on Nov. 27, 1837. Deed records show town existed late as 1850. By 1880 the land was sold by state for its taxes. Hurricanes, freezes and lack of medical services caused the area to be deserted by 1890. Aurora bloomed and faded like the dawn, from which it took its name, leaving shoreline of Lake Sabine deserted until 1895, when Port Arthur was founded. (1966)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Laid out in 1835 on a Mexican land grant to Horatio M. Hanks, Aurora was platted with at least 160 blocks and its first lots sold in 1837, just after the Texas Revolution. But hurricanes, hard freezes, and the absence of medical care emptied the townsite, and by 1890 it stood deserted — until Port Arthur rose nearby in 1895.
Why it matters
Aurora is a classic Gulf Coast ghost town, a reminder of how many hopeful paper cities of the frontier never survived the land and climate that met them.
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Related people
- · Horatio M. Hanks
- · Alamazon Huston
Themes & tags
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