Once you get a look at Rockport's picturesque harbor and the twisted, windswept
oaks along the coast in Fulton, you might be glad that this area - home for a
time to the state's largest port - fell off the industrial track. Today the quaint
towns are popular, casual resorts, as well as centers for commercial fishing and
shrimping.
Aransas County
Population: 21,111 (up 18 percent from 1990)
County seat: Rockport (population 6,494)
Location: On the gulf, northeast of San Patricio County and southeast
of Refugio County.
Size: 527.9 square miles (252.0 square miles of land)
Climate: Mean July maximum temperature - 91; mean January minimum temperature
- 44; annual precipitation - 36.9 inches.
History: Karankawa and Coahuiltecan tribes' territory. Settled by Irish
and Mexicans in 1829. County created in 1871 from Refugio County.
Economy: Tourism, fishing and shrimping, oil production and refining,
shipbuilding, offshore equipment manufacturing, carbon plant. Major agricultural
products are beef, redfish, cotton, sorghum and corn.
Statistics: Crimes per 1,000 residents (1998) - 52.967; Pregnancies
per 1,000 women ages 15-44 (1997) - 76.3; Voter turnout (1998) - 44.59 percent;
Per capita income (1998) - $14,511.
Major tourist attractions:
