The Vanished Texas Coast: Lost Port Towns, Mysterious Shipwrecks and Other True Tales

by Mark Lardas

People may associate Texas with cattle drives and oil derricks, but the sea has shaped the state's history as dramatically as it has delineated its coastline. Some of that history has vanished into the Gulf, whether it is an abandoned port town or a gale-tossed treasure fleet. Revisit the shipwreck that put Texas on the map. Add La Salle's lost colony, the Texas Navy's forgotten steamship and Galveston's overlooked 1915 hurricane to the navigational charts. From the submarines of Seawolf Park to the concrete tanker beached off Pelican Island, author Mark Lardas scours the coast to salvage the secrets of its sunken heritage.

Genres: Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

Published July 12, 2021

About the author

Mark Lardas holds a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, but spent his early career at the Johnson Space Center doing Space Shuttle structural analysis, and space navigation. An amateur historian and a long-time ship modeller, Mark Lardas is currently a freelance writer in Palestine, Texas. He has written extensively about modelling as well as naval, maritime, and military history.

Reviews

[jj Grilliette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of good and interesting things

[Craig Gaines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview of Texas Coast History

Lots of interesting stories with history and tragedy on the Texas Coast. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Texas history or happenings along the Texas coast.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this book at my visit to the Texas Maritime Museum, which I also highly recommend!
Very interesting subject matter but found at least 3 typos which drive me buggers. Two of them were dates, thus, if trying to construct an accurate time-line, one would be confused!