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36-413: Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca wrote about the Akokisa in 1528, calling them the "Han." An early reported encounter with the Akokisa by a European person was in 1719 when Simars de Bellisle , a French officer, was held captive by the Akokisa until 1721. His account of his captivity provides some information about Akokisa culture. John Sibley in 1805 reported that they previously lived near Matagorda Bay on

72-486: A very few remaining more or less intact. Peak coastal surges reached 21-foot (6.4 m). Water depths of at least 5-foot (1.5 m) covered all of the Bolivar Peninsula, with most areas covered by at least 15-foot (4.6 m) of water (not including wave action). Much of the southern part of Chambers County was also inundated by at least 12-foot (3.7 m) of water. According to post-storm analyses by both

108-679: A very narrow strip of land in Galveston County , separating the eastern part of Galveston Bay from the Gulf of Mexico . Its narrowest point is a quarter of a mile and is near the unincorporated community of Gilchrist , where the peninsula was divided by Rollover Pass . According to the United States Census Bureau , the CDP has a total area of 48.1 square miles (124.7 km ), of which 42.5 square miles (110.1 km )

144-739: Is extinct and nearly unknown. Swanton claimed that the Akokisa spoke a language related to Atakapa based on the similarity of a vocabulary of 45 words ascribed to the Akokisa collected by Captain Jean Béranger in 1721 on Galveston. However, there is no clear evidence that this document actually represents the language of Akokisa (Béranger provides a tribal designation for the vocabulary). Sibley also reported that they had their own language "peculiar to themselves" and used sign language to communicate with other Indians (also reported for other peoples in eastern Texas). He did not connect them with

180-461: Is land and 5.6 square miles (14.6 km ), or 11.7%, is water. While every community on the Bolivar Peninsula is Unincorporated, Crystal Beach , formerly known as Patton, was an Incorporated community from 1971 until 1987. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 2,769 people, 1,286 households, and 815 families residing in the CDP. As of the census of 2000, there were 3,853 people, 1,801 households, and 1,138 families residing in

216-467: Is now privately owned and not open to the public) has an important history with the peninsula, built in 1872. The lighthouse is located on the western end of the peninsula, directly across from Fort Travis Seashore Park. Fort Travis in Bolivar Peninsula, a separate facility from Fort Travis in Galveston, was built with construction starting in 1898. The North Jetty , extending from Bolivar Peninsula, of

252-509: The Atakapa , practiced cannibalism , which may have been connected to their religious beliefs. Cannibalistic efforts were described as consumption of enemies' flesh after a battle by Simars de Bellisle , who observed them firsthand. Akokisa were hunter-gatherers and had a diet of deer , fish, oysters and bison . Black drink was used for purification in certain ceremonies. They are reported to have grown "superfine" maize . Tubers of

288-956: The Sabine and Neches Rivers ; the other was on the west side of the Colorado River . The Akokisas may have been absorbed into other tribes at the wake of the Texas Revolution of 1835-36. The name Akokisa is of unknown origin, although John R. Swanton has speculated that the name may be from the Atakapa word icāk meaning "person". The Akokisa have also been known by the following names and spelling variations: Arkokisa, Caque, Han, Orcoquiza, Accocesaw, Accockesaw, Accokesaus, Accokesaw, Acokesa, Horcoquisa, Ocosau, Orcoquisa, and Orcoquisac. Akokisa people lived in settled villages and built airy structures to cope with their warm climate. Their homes were beehive-shaped and thatched with grass or palmetto leaves. A hearth would be located in

324-462: The greenbrier vine provided meal for baking and cooking. During warm seasons they ate bird eggs, fish, shellfish, and American lotus rhizomes and seeds ; during cold seasons they moved further inland and hunted deer , bear , and bison . Horses were used to hunt bison. Tanned deer hides and bear fat were their primary commercial exports. Almost nothing is known about their kinship systems, life cycle, or marriage customs. The Akokisa language

360-453: The storm , which acted to increase both surge and waves . Surge is extremely important for the particular case of the Bolivar Peninsula, as it allowed large waves to penetrate inland into areas they could not otherwise have reached. Shoreline erosion was around 75 m, which undermined the piled foundations of oceanfront buildings. Most other houses in this area were reduced to either piles or slabs by large waves riding on surge, with only

396-480: The 1,000 buildings in Gilchrist, 99.5% of them were knocked off of their foundations. Of the buildings off of the foundations, the storm demolished some and washed others onto swamplands behind Gilchrist. The Bolivar Peninsula was just to the right of landfall, placing it on the strong side of the hurricane. H Wind reconstructions (Powell et al., 1998) show winds blowing strongly from offshore-to-onshore for most of

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432-622: The Atakapa. Only two Akokisa words have been found in Spanish records: Yegsa meaning "Spaniard(s)" and Quiselpoo , a female name. Francois Simars de Bellisle Francois Simars de Bellisle (c. 1695-1763) was a Frenchman who was shipwrecked on the Bolivar Peninsula , near present-day Galveston, Texas , in 1722. He had been sailing for New Orleans . He was captured by Akokisa natives, and had to subsist for some time on

468-543: The Bolivar Peninsula as part of the pirate kingdom established around the Galveston Bay. The peninsula was part of an overland slave route between Louisiana and Galveston . James Long based his operations on the peninsula since 1819 with the first establishment of Bolivar Peninsula, and Fort Las Casas was built in 1820. Samuel D. Parr was responsible for starting the settlement in 1838 that would later become Port Bolivar. The Point Bolivar Lighthouse (which

504-651: The CDP was $ 26,137. About 8.3% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line , including 13.4% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over. Bolivar Peninsula residents are divided between the Galveston Independent School District and the High Island Independent School District . The western portion of the Bolivar Peninsula, including the unincorporated communities of Port Bolivar and Crystal Beach , are within

540-479: The CDP. The population density was 85.3 inhabitants per square mile (32.9/km ). There were 5,425 housing units at an average density of 120.0 per square mile (46.3/km ). The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.69% White , 0.47% African American , 0.80% Native American , 0.57% Asian , 2.80% from other races , and 1.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.96% of the population. There were 1,801 households, out of which 18.0% had children under

576-976: The Galveston Independent School District. That portion is served by the Pre-K-8 Crenshaw Elementary and Middle School, located on the peninsula, and Ball High School (9-12), located on the island of Galveston . The current Crenshaw building, in Crystal Beach, opened in 2005. Prior to the opening of the current campus, the previous facility consisted of two separate buildings, in Port Bolivar . As of 2020 there are no particular attendance boundaries in GISD so parents may apply to any school they wish, but only Bolivar Peninsula residents may have school bus service to Crenshaw K-8. The eastern portion of

612-644: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Hurricane Research Division and Applied Research Associates (ARA), a research and engineering company, the best estimates of 3-second peak wind gusts along the eastern portion of the peninsula were between 110 mph and 115 mph. Research observations also suggest most of eastern and southeastern Texas was subjected to tropical storm and hurricane-force winds for ten hours, and possibly longer. Cindy Horswell of McClatchy - Tribune Business News said that authorities said that 3,600 structures on

648-638: The Our Lady By The Sea Chapel and Catholic Center in Crystal Beach . Its service area is the entire peninsula. This site is a part of the Holy Family Parish, which has other sites on Galveston Island . Our Mother of Mercy Church in Port Bolivar was established circa 1950. Crystal Beach formerly had St. Theresa of Liseaux Mission, built in 1994. St. Theresa sustained damage during Hurricane Ike in 2008, and due to

684-419: The age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.65. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 17.0% under

720-461: The age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 20.7% from 25 to 44, 35.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.1 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $ 34,235, and the median income for a family was $ 42,448. Males had a median income of $ 36,477 versus $ 24,519 for females. The per capita income for

756-542: The celebration. Brittanie Shey of the Houston Press described the celebration as a "small town parade." The Texas Department of Transportation provides ferry service from Port Bolivar at the western end of the Bolivar Peninsula to Galveston . During the non-tourist season, there is only a tentative daily schedule for this service, running approximately every thirty minutes from either side during daylight hours and once an hour after nightfall. Boats will depart

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792-407: The center of the floor with a smokehole in the ceiling. During summer months, an Akokisa would sleep in a Chickee , a raised platform with a thatched roof and open sides. Beds were made of straw, covered with animal skins. For water transportation and fishing, Akokisas carved cypress logs into dugout canoes . Both men and women decorated their bodies and faces with tattoos . The Akokisa, like

828-591: The damage the archdiocese had it razed. Our Lady By The Sea was built on its site. Our Mother of Mercy was undamaged, but it remained closed after the hurricane and the archdiocese had it demolished anyway. Between Hurricane Ike and the opening of Our Lady by the Sea, Bolivar residents attended church in Galveston or in Winnie . John Nova Lomax of the Houston Press wrote that the Our Lady church, dedicated in 2010 and on

864-674: The entire peninsula) are assigned to Galveston College in Galveston . The Galveston County Department of Parks and Senior Services operates the Joe Faggard Community Center at 1760 State Highway 87 in the Crystal Beach area and the Fort Travis Seashore Park . The community holds a Mardi Gras celebration along Texas State Highway 87 each year. Many people and groups, including beach bars, politicians, and school groups have krewes in

900-475: The entrance to Galveston Bay started being constructed in 1874. From 1896 to 1942, the Gulf & Interstate, a subsidiary of Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway, connected Beaumont to Galveston Island with aid of train ferries . At one time the Bolivar Peninsula was called the "breadbasket of Galveston" and the "watermelon capital of Texas". Crystal Beach was incorporated from 1971 until 1987, and it has been

936-537: The land. His documentation of this ordeal is considered the first account of the Akokisa tribe. This French biographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Texas biographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Bolivar Peninsula Bolivar Peninsula ( / ˈ b ɒ l ɪ v ər / BOL -i-vər ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Galveston County , Texas , United States. The population

972-420: The landing from any given side on the captain's prerogative. During tourist season and on occasion of holiday weekends and large events on the island of Galveston (only) the boats have been known to run as quickly as every fifteen minutes departing both sides every twenty minutes at most. On these occasions, the ferry service may have as many as five boats in the water, compared to three during the off-season. There

1008-407: The long, low-lying Bolivar Peninsula which has typical elevations around 2 m. Despite being only a strong category 2 storm with maximum winds at landfall of 95 knots (49 m/s, Berg, 2009), Ike's extremely large, long-lasting surge and waves devastated the peninsula. In Gilchrist, Texas , NOAA aerial photography reveals complete destruction. The Rollover Pass bridge was reduced to one lane. Of

1044-465: The most populated community of the Bolivar Peninsula. On April 23, 1991, communities of Bolivar Peninsula received an enhanced 9-1-1 system which routes calls to proper dispatchers and allows dispatchers to automatically view the address of the caller. The Bolivar Peninsula suffered heavy damage from Hurricane Ike that made landfall on the Texas coast on September 13, 2008. The Bolivar Peninsula forms

1080-518: The peninsula, 62% of them, were destroyed or severely damaged by Ike's storm surge. By January 2009, 40% of Bolivar Peninsula's population had returned. Of the Bolivar Peninsula communities, Gilchrist received the fewest returnees. The United States Postal Service once operated the Gilchrist Post Office, which opened on September 16, 1950. It closed on July 31, 2010. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston maintains

1116-436: The peninsula, including the unincorporated communities of Caplen , Gilchrist , and High Island , is served by the High Island Independent School District . As of 2003 some residents of the GISD portion sent their children to HIISD, and some residents of the GISD portion expressed a belief that the district was not giving fair treatment to their area schools despite the tax money they pay. Both GISD and HIISD (and therefore

Akokisa - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-666: The west bank of the Texan Colorado River in ancient times. Around the 1750s the Akokisa were divided into five village groups. Some Akokisa people entered the San Ildefonso Mission in 1748-49 but left in 1755. That mission was abandoned and replaced by Nuestra Señora de la Luz Mission , built in 1756-57 on the Trinity River, to serve the Akokisa and Bidai tribes. In 1805, the Akokisa were reduced to two villages. One coastal village lay between

1188-500: Was 2,769 at the 2020 census . The communities of Port Bolivar , Crystal Beach , Caplen , Gilchrist , and High Island are located on Bolivar Peninsula. The peninsula was named in 1816 for Simón Bolívar , the famed Venezuelan political leader involved in the independence movements of Venezuela , Colombia , Peru , Bolivia , and other Latin American nations. The pirates/privateers Jean Laffite and Louis-Michel Aury each used

1224-538: Was a proposal to build the Bolivar Bridge to connect Galveston Island to Bolivar Peninsula, but it has been canceled. At 7:10 UST on September 13, 2008 (2:10 am local), Hurricane Ike made landfall at the east end of Galveston Island, Texas , as the largest North Atlantic hurricane in recorded history. At the height of the storm, Ike's cloud mass essentially covered the entire Gulf of Mexico. The Wind and Surge Destructive Potential Classification Scale, which

1260-437: Was calculated for Ike and was found to be 25 percent greater than the comparable maximum estimate for Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Hurricane Ike caused cataclysmic destruction of the peninsula, reducing the region to rubble and causing severe, permanent change in the shoreline. Entire communities along the upper Texas coast were simply wiped out by Ike's catastrophic storm surge. Ike's effects were disproportionally felt near

1296-510: Was detailed in Tropical Cyclone Destructive Potential by Integrated Kinetic Energy (by Dr. Mark Powell and Dr. Tim Reinhold, April 2007) offers a new way to assess hurricane size and strength by calculating the total kinetic energy contained in a 1-meter deep horizontal slice of the storm at an elevation of 10 meters above the land or ocean surface. Using this type of calculation, the integrated kinetic energy

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