Hog Island

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Hog Island was named because the owner, Ashbel Smith, ran hogs on it. Hog Island was a steamboat landing on the Houston-Galveston route in the 1800's. John Gaillard discovered natural gas while fishing off of Hog Island. He thought the bubbles were buffalo fish. Hog Island was originally 223 acres and J. Gaillard paid Ashbel Smith $2000 for it in 1905 to run livestock.

Gaillard sold the Island to Humble Oil Company in 1918 for $300,000. The first barge of Goose Creek oil was sent out from Hog Island. Mrs. Hettie Perry ran a boarding house on Hog Island from 1917 to 1920. She charged one dollar per day. There was a hand operated ferry that carried 40 people and took 15 minutes of pulling to make the trip. Later, it was used as grazing fields, and ultimately, a landfill. After the bridge was destroyed in '61, the island was abandoned.

Source: ourbaytown.com/hogisland.htm