Crystal Beach

Crystal Beach, also known as Patton, stretches seven miles along State Highway 87 in the middle of Bolivar Peninsula in Galveston County. Although the site was settled in the early twentieth century, the only recorded activity was that in the community of Patton, one of several names adopted by residents of the area in its early years. A Patton Beach post office operated from 1898 to 1900. Patton was a railroad stop until the railroad ceased operation in the early 1940s. Around then the name of the community was changed to Crystal Beach.

The town was incorporated in 1971. At least four efforts to disincorporate were made in the mid-1980s, and a vote to disincorporate was successful in 1987. Afterward, supporters of incorporation and those of disincorporation alternated with successful campaigns for votes and battles in court. The community was not incorporated in 1990.