Indianola Immigrant Database

Begun in 1994 as a project of the Victoria County Historical Commission, the Indianola Immigrant Database seeks to record the individuals and families that reached Texas through that ill-fated port on the Texas coast.

Indianola, Texas was founded in 1846 as Indian Point by Sam Addision White and William M. Cook. A nearby stretch of beach had been chosen in 1844 by Carl, Prince of Solms Braunfels, as the landing place for German immigrants brought into Texas sponsored by the Adelsverein. The town grew rapidly, changing its name in 1849 to Indianola. Until the devastating hurricane of 1875, Indianola was the second busiest port in Texas. Although rebuilt, Indianola was again devastated by the hurricane of 1886. By 1887, the town was abandoned.

With no official ships' passenger lists, the exact number of immigrants (although estimated in the thousands) passing through the port of Indianola is not known. The Indianola Immigrant Database is an effort to record Indianola immigration via family history, printed histories, and other sources.

The Victoria Regional History Center was selected by the Victoria County Historical Commission as the repository of the Indianola Immigrant Database along with the printed resource material generated by the project. Information and family records sent in by contributors to the database is housed in the VRHC and is available to researchers. The database is available for searching on this web site.

Submit the name of an immigrant into the database

Read more about Indianola from the Handbook of Texas