Have you ever wondered where the saying “Deader than a
Door Nail” came from?
There are several museums around the Port Isabel area
that we have never been to so on our day off we headed out to visit three of
them.
Our first stop was the Port Isabel Lighthouse. The 74 steps to the top were well worth
it!
The view from the top:
The Lighthouse was constructed in 1852 and was built to
protect and guide ships through Brazos Santiago Pass and the barrier islands. In 1952, the Lighthouse was opened as a State
Park and remains the only lighthouse on the Texas Gulf Coast open to the
public.
On summer evenings, movies are shown on the outside wall.
The next two museums were a bit of a disappointment. After reading the descriptions in the visitor
brochure, I guess we were expecting a bit more than we found.
The Port Isabel Historical Museum was built in 1899 as a dry
goods store and residence, it now houses one of the largest collections of
Mexican artifacts from the U.S.-Mexican War.
The third museum, Treasures of the Gulf Museum,
spotlights three 1554 Spanish shipwrecks. Meeting their fate just 30 miles
north of Port Isabel.
So, have you been wondering where the saying “deader than
a door nail” came from?
Teri
