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History · Surfside Beach

Half of Surfside Beach’s homes were built after 1983

Most of Surfside Beach was built recently: 0.1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983.

0on the National Register
0.1%homes built before 1940
Photo: WhisperToMe · Public domain

What stands out about Surfside Beach’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Surfside Beach’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Surfside Beach’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
The story so far

Surfside Beach, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Surfside Beach yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Surfside Beach, also known locally as Surfside, is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, United States, that is situated on Follet's Island by the Gulf of Mexico near the city of Freeport. The population was 640 at the 2020 census. The city has claimed the "Cradle of Texas Liberty" title due to the fact that the Treaty of Velasco which ended hostilities between Texas and Mexico was signed at Fort Velasco, which was located near the city's current City Hall. Former Congressman Ron Paul maintained a home near Surfside Beach before selling it on Facebook in 2011.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 482 to 640 (+33%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Surfside Beach, decade by decade

Famous people

Famous people close to Surfside Beach

Nobody well known was born in Surfside Beach itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Surfside

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Questions about Surfside Beach’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.