On Mother’s Day, James and I got up before the sun to head to the beach to catch some early morning waves at Packery. After an hour or so, as more youngster surfers paddled out, James paddled in. We then headed over to Port Aransas for a quiet Mother’s Day breakfast at a local diner on Alister Street.
After a lovely, hearty breakfast, we decided to drive through Port A’s Old Town, close to the port entrance. For the first time, I took in the variety of Farley Boat replicas in the neighborhood and their owners’ plantings.
Back in the early 1900s, Tarpon fishing was big off Port Aransas, but there weren’t boats designed to handle the choppy Gulf of Mexico waters. Fred Farley from Alabama learned of the need for a boat with low-sides and high bow so he moved to Port Aransas with his three brothers and began a boat-building business that continued until the 1970’s. Today, Port Aransas takes pride that the Farley brothers and their families designed and built many boats to meet the needs of the local fishing guides and anglers.
The Port Aransas Garden Club created the Farley boat planters for a beautification project, combining local history with blooming plants and natives! The planters are an artistic reproduction of the original Farley boats and a reminder of historic fishing and boat building in the early 1900’s in Port Aransas, Texas.
If you want one for yourself, contact portagardenclub@gmail.com!
-Sally Gill
Joan Mead says
Thanks so much Sally! I love to learn about local history. New York had cows, Norfolk has mermaids, Austin has guitars, and now Port A has Farley boats! I’ll be sure to do my own tour when I’m there in August.
DOROTHY VOGES says
Sally, thank you for this little jewel of history. My father was an avid deep sea fisherman at Port Aransas back in the day; so I’m forwarding your info to family members that will enjoy reading it.