The Cedars
Rockport, Aransas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Tourism has been a major part of the Rockport economy for generations, but in the 1920s and 1930s with the rise of the automobile, more visitors began to travel to the area. The Cedars, built in 1928 by Dr. Joe and Mabel Bryant, became a popular tourist destination with seven "resort houses" on the property. The property was sold to H.M. Daggett in 1929. Stanley Daggett, his son, and his wife, Flossie, gained the property in 1930 and added two cottages. Annual gatherings of fishing and birding organizations and groups of families were a common practice and brought in many visitors to the cedars. Originally there were outhouses, iceboxes, hot plates and a windmill but soon small bathrooms were attached to each cottage. By the late 1940s, the cottages offered hot and cold running water, gas stoves, refrigerators and clothes lines. In 1946 Miss Ethel Jones who lived in San Antonio purchased the property and hired an on-site manager. After retiring to the property in 1964, she sold The Cedars to her nephew, Charles Stevens, in 1971. Guests from Texas and out of state continued to visit The Cedars. In 1973, Stevens sold the property to a group of eight families, organized by the Robertsons, known as the Rockport Cedars Association (RCA). Each family retained a cottage and the center space became common ground. Traditions at The Cedars continued as these families and others enjoyed the coast and worked together for the annual “pier review,” an event when the pier and t-head are repaired. This cultural landmark represents economic growth and tourism in Rockport, and continues to attract families to the beautiful texas coast.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
As automobiles put the Texas coast within easy reach in the 1920s and 1930s, tourism became central to Rockport's economy, and The Cedars—built in 1928 by Dr. Joe and Mabel Bryant—grew into a favorite retreat of "resort houses" and cottages. Through a succession of owners it drew fishing and birding groups and returning families year after year, its rustic outhouses and iceboxes giving way over time to running water, gas stoves, and refrigerators. In 1973 eight families organized as an association, each keeping a cottage and sharing the common ground, carrying on traditions like the annual "pier review" repair day.
Why it matters
The Cedars captures how the rise of the automobile turned the Texas coast into a tourist destination and how a cluster of cottages became a lasting communal tradition.
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Related people
- · Dr. Joe Bryant
- · Mabel Bryant
Themes & tags
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