GALVESTON-PORT BOLIVAR
FERRY SYSTEM
Ferry service between Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula began on April 12, 1930. Six daily round trips were made and only daylight service was provided. The ferries Galveston and Jefferson were operated by Southern States Transportation Company for approximately two years before being sold to Galveston County. The county operated them for the next six months and then turned them over to the State of Texas.
A nominal toll was charged until 1950, when two new boats were built and the original ones sold. Built by Todd Shipyards in Galveston, the two boats cost $1,210,000. The R.S. Sterling was delivered in May, the Cone Johnson in June. A third boat, the E.H. Thornton, Jr. was added to service in February 1959. The Cone Johnson was retired from active service on February 2, 1995, having been replaced by the Dewitt C. Greer.
Originally, 185 feet long and 55 feet wide, each boat carried approximately 52 vehicles. In 1977, they were lengthened 60 feet and widened 11 feet. Now 245 feet long and 66 feet wide, each boat carried approximately 70 vehicles.
A forth ferry entered service in April 1977. The Gibb Gilchrist was built by Jeffboat, Inc., in Jeffersonville, Indiana, at a cost of $5,000,000.
The Robert C. Lanier was christened on April 4, 1991. The Dewitt C. Greer was christened on January 27, 1995. The Ray Stoker, Jr. entered into service on November 12,1997. The Stoker was constructed at a cost of $8.3 million.
The Robert H. Dedman entered service on February 18, 1999. The Dedman was constructed at a cost of $9.7 million.
The Lanier, Greer, Stoker, and Dedman have a unique propulsion system manufactured by Voith-Schneider America, Inc., of Heidenheim, Germany. There are no propellers or rudders.
All ferries are double-ended. The Captain changes from one pilothouse to the other to go in the opposite direction.
This free service of the Texas Department of Transportation operates 24 hours a day in all weather conditions. A link in State Highway 87, the ferry route across Galveston Bay, is 2.7 miles long. The crossing takes approximately 18 minutes, a round trip approximately 50 minutes. Records of the greatest number of vehicles and passengers carried on any one day is 12,733 vehicles on July 4, 1993 and 43,472 passengers on July 3, 1994.
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BOLIVAR LIGHTHOUSE
In 1872, the Bolivar Lighthouse was built near the west end of the Bolivar Peninsula. The light guided ships for 61 years before being retired in 1933, replaced by the South Jetty Light. Standing 117 feet high, built of brick, and sheathed in riveted cast iron plates the Bolivar Lighthouse had a 52,000 candlepower beacon. The great intensity lamp was fueled by kerosene that was turned into gas eight rays of light were produced every 15 seconds during the night. During the 1900 Storm, the winds cause the lighthouse to sway so much that the light failed to rotate. H.C. Claiborne, the first keeper, rotated the light by hand and saved the lives of 125 people. During the 1915 Storm, the lighthouse withstood bwinds of 125 miles per hour. Sixty-one people found refuge there while 11 foot tides battered the lighthouse. In 1970, the Bolivar light appeared in the movie “My Sweet Charlie” which was filmed in Galveston and on the peninsula.
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