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Sargent is a small
unincorporated community located in the eastern corner of
Matagorda County, Texas, United States.
Sargent was named for George Thomas Sargent (1791-1875).
Sargent and his family relocated to Texas from England in 1834. In
1838 they established permanent residence in Matagorda County,
where Sargent became a major landowner. George T. Sargent and his
daughter-in-law, Sarah Ann, drowned in a hurricane in 1875. They
are buried in a small family cemetery located in Caney Creek
Estates and maintained by local residents. The site was awarded a
Historical Marker by the Texas State Historical Commission in
1986.
Sargent is a fishing, boating, and water sports community
with a variable population, as most of its inhabitants are weekend
commuters from larger cities such as Houston, Austin, and San
Antonio. Sargent is on Farm Road 457, five miles northwest of the
Gulf of Mexico and twenty-four miles southeast of Bay City in the
eastern corner of Matagorda County. Approximately 500 permanent
residents live in the Sargent area, while on holiday weekends the
population may swell to as high as 5,000. The Sargent area, with
its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, East Matagorda Bay, the
Intracoastal Waterway, and Caney Creek, is home base to many
commercial and sport fisherman and shrimpers. Red drum (aka
Redfish), Spotted Sea trout (aka Speckled Trout), Flounder, Blue
Crab, and shrimp are among the local favorites.
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Sargent Beach 1940 |
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In addition to the local fishing, one of the unique
appeals of Sargent is that many of the homesites are
waterfront. Several developments, such as Caney Creek
Estates became established in the late 1950s and early
1960s. Following the widespread damage caused by Hurricane
Carla in 1961, other developments such as Downey's Caney
Creek, Caney Court, and Caney Creek Haven were established,
including new waterfront lots created by the digging of
manmade canals off Caney Creek and the Intracoastal
Waterway.
Many waterfront lots were originally sold as
campsites. Much of Sargent still has a fishing camp
influence with many recreational vehicles present, although
the majority of developed homesites now have permanent
dwellings. Also prevalent are the many private wooden piers
and docks, where modern recreational watercraft can be
docked. Most piers also have electric fishing lights that
allow night fishing, particularly during the colder months
where Spotted Sea trout are known to feed as they migrate
inland.
Sargent Beach, where multiple rows of beach houses in
the 1960s eventually succumbed to continual beach erosion,
has received more attention to preserve what remains of this
relatively narrow island bordered by the Gulf of Mexico, the
Intracoastal Waterway, Mitchell's Cut into East Matagorda
Bay, and the San Bernard River far to the east.
The most notable effort to protect Sargent Beach
was obtaining funding for and completing development of a
granite breakwater revetment designed and installed by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the early 1990s. This
substructure is designed to help prevent beach erosion and
protect inland homes from storm surge in the event of a
tropical cyclone making landfall near the area. Coastal
Technology's from Austin received a grant from the Port of
Bay City Authority (two different grants totaling $340,000)
to study improving the pass.
Education
The community is within the Van Vleck Independent School
District. |
Great Map of Sargent Beach -
HERE
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