Port O'Connor was laid out in the late 19th century as a fishing settlement called Alligator Head. As it grew in popularity with both permanent residents and tourists, the community took on more municipal like characteristics, earning the formal designation finally in 1912 as the town site of Port O'Connor. By choice, it is not an incorporated city.

Its heyday spanned the ten years from 1909 to 1919, resulting in growth that has yet been matched. Excursion trains used to run on weekends to Port O'Connor and an estimated 10,000 tourists came every summer.

Four times in the history of Port O'Connor it has been struck by hurricanes. The hurricane of 1919 brought the "good old days" to a halt, destroying the town. It rebuilt slowly but the 1942 and 1945 hurricanes so close in time were hard to overcome. In 1961 Port O'Connor was in the midst of another growth boom due to the increase of military personnel on nearby Matagorda Island Air Force Base. That same year Hurricane Carla destroyed the town again; but times reflect its will to survive, fueled by tourism, commercial fisheries and the petrochemical industry.

Port O'Connor offers complete facilities with motels, restaurants, grocery stores, lounges, shell and gift shops, seafood markets, auto and boat parts and repair, RV parks, hardware stores, marinas, condos, fishing and hunting supplies, charters and guides and real estate brokers for those who wish to remain a part of The Best Kept Secret on the Gulf Coast!¹

¹Visitor's Guide 6/28/97. Port Lavaca Wave. pg 20 & 21