The Bolivar Peninsula forms a very narrow strip of land in Galveston County, TX, separating the eastern part of Galveston Bay from the Gulf of Mexico. It is a popular spot for outdoor recreational activities including fishing, boating, bird watching and spending a day on the beach!

“The peninsula,” as locals call it, is a quirky community made up of the towns of Port Bolivar, Crystal Beach, Caplen, Gilchrist, and High Island. It is a 27-mile long barrier formation in the Gulf of Mexico and a short ferry ride from Galveston, Texas.

The Crystal Beach site was settled in the early 20th century. Patton served as a railroad station. When the railroad ended in the early 1940s, the name of the community became "Crystal Beach." The community incorporated in 1971. Four subsequent attempts to disincorporate the municipality occurred in the mid-1980s.

Developers Archibald Wynn and William Lawrence purchased land and platted a town named Ishmael. However, when the first post office was established, it was named Gabion. In 1893, the community was renamed Port Bolivar. In 1896, the Gulf and Interstate Railroad was built to connect Galveston and Beaumont.