MANHATTAN, TEXAS
Matagorda County, Texas Gulf Coast
The town that never was
Manhattan was a planned town to be situated at the mouth of Caney Creek on East Matagorda Bay. The junction of the Matagorda Peninsula with the mainland once appeared on maps as Manhattan Bay.
The early years of settlement in Matagorda and Brazoria counties and the heady optimism of Texas independence created a boom of speculation with many trying to predict the next Brazoria or Quintana. Manhattan never developed - despite its optimistic name.
A local newspaper - the Matagorda Bulletin anounced plans for The Manhattan Academy to be established there. The trustees included such notables as Anson Jones, Mirabeau Lamar and William H. Wharton. The academy was intended to be a draw to the planned town, but the trustees were busy with other projects.
In 1838 the Caney Navigation Company listed three of the company's officers with having a Manhattan residence. In 1843 papers incorporating the Matagorda Caney Navigation Company referred to a place "commonly called the town of Manhattan."
The Matagorda Bulletin reported in 1838 that weekly trips between Matagorda and the town of Manhattan would be made by a sloop - also named Manhattan.
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