Smith Point

Smith (Smith's) Point overlooks East Bay and Trinity Bay on Farm Road 562, twenty miles from Galveston in southern Chambers County. Spanish troops landed there en route to reinforcing the troubled settlement at Atascosito in 1805. The locale was probably named for John Smith, who signed a petition in 1827 protesting Mexico's failure to grant title to land claimants in the Atascosito district. The Smith Point post office was established in 1876. Water transportation remained the chief mode of travel for Smith Point settlers until the advent of the automobile. About fifty residents lived at Smith Point during the 1930s. Fishing and ranching provided the chief means of support for local inhabitants until 1944, when oil was discovered. Numerous onshore and offshore oil and gas wells have been brought in since that time. Although the post office was discontinued in 1943, a number of residences, summer homes, oil and gas wells, and small fishing firms marked the bayfront community in 1986. In 1990 the population was 150. The population remained the same in 2000.