Indianola Key Attractions
Indian Point
Sailing ships from Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pensacola, Mobile and New Orleans crowded the four wharves at Indian Point in 1848, to dishcharge their cargoes for the interior of Western Texas and to take in raw materials to the industrial North. Eckhardt became the main exporter of of wool grown in the region around Fredericksburg. Eckhardt also shipped native grass hay from Guadalupe River valley to New Orleans and Mobile.
(25)Indian Point in 1848 presented a neat and well-ordered appearance. Oleanders had been introduced from Galveston and grew in the town. The influence of the German population was apparent, and was a bilingual community from the start. Many of the older immigrants who settled at Indian Point lived out their life span without learning English. Schools of Indian Point were bilingual until June, 1860.
(26)The Presbyterians and Methodists had congregations in Indian Point by the summer of 1848. A Lutheran church was organized there in 1854. The Rev. Daniel Baker, D.D., pioneer Presbyterian missionary minister, visited Indian Point in 1848. Sam A. White promoted a sale of land in 1848. German residents of the town were not enthusiastic about White's plans to entice more "Americans" to invest in and settle at Indian Point.
(27)The war between U.S. and Mexico ended on Feb. 2, 1848. The exodus of the American troops from exico was a boost to Indian Point. There was an uninterrupted flow of homeward bound troops. The treaty gave the U.S. more land which would benefit the Port of Indianola. Goods would flow through the port from the territory the U.S. acquired from Mexico.
(28)In October 1848, a contingent of U.S. troops reached the port in route to San Antonio. These troops garrisoned the new fort of El Paso. Shortly thereafter, gold was discovered in Northern California and the seekers entered the port to take the overland route to the gold fields. Angelina Eberly moved from Lavaca to Indian Point on April 15, 1848, and opened the American Hotel on Main Street.
(29)Discussion was increasing the need to change the name of Indian Point. After some debate by citizens, the name "Indianola" was proposed by Mrs. John Henry Brown. her reasoning for the name was the first part of the current name (Indian) and the other part would be (ola), which is the Spanish word for wave. "Indianola" was approved on February 1, 1849. A sharp increase in the number of vessels entering Matagorda Bay began late in 1848.
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