and the port where alot of texas' german immigrants came in... however, in the 1870s, two hurricanes in five years completely destroyed the city, wiped it clear off the map. one of the things that made me want to go there, was this song by brian burns, it tells a pretty good story about the history of indianola.
sieur de lasalle, the french explorer met his end near here. after passage from france, his ship arrived off of matagorda bay, and he assumed he was near the mouth of the mississippi, so they built a small fort. however, he was 500 miles 
from new orleans, he set out on foot to reach new orleans. somewhere in east texas his men got mad and killed him, they in turn were killed by indians and the climate. the men who had remained at the fort took to fightin themselves as well as attacks by hostile indians, and most of them died too. then the spanish came and burned down the fort.
Indianola MP3 Excerpt Brian Burns - (C)opr. 2002 - Brian Burns Music (BMI)
"I’ve slept on this shore for 300 years where the ocean gives rise to the plains. Where Sieur de La Salle first sailed into Texas not one single footprint remains. The wind and the waves sing me long lullabies, and I seldom find reason to open my eyes, no voice stirs my spirit, no sound and no scene, so I drift back to sleep... and I dream...”
And she looked out to sea, and on the horizon
were ships bearing into her bay,
and with sleep in her eyes, she stood in amazement
and watched as they headed her way.
And this bay it would come to be called Matagorda,
a new settlers’ passage to the great Texas plains,
bringing captains and soldiers and princes and paupers,
and some would move inland and some would remain.
“My name is Johann, and I have brought settlers
from Germany to the New World,
they’ll soon stake their claims from here to New Braunfels,
Gonzales, and Victoria.
But I’ll make my home here on this sun-bleached shore,
and I’ll build a city where none stood before,
a sheltering harbor from water and wind;
let the great ships of commerce roll in...”
And she looked out to sea, clear to the horizon her piers jutted into the bay, and she saw the lifeblood that bustled around her and gave her all reason to stay. And they named her the city of Indianola, they plied her deep waters with timber and steel, and they swore that no tempest could rattle or harm her, but the ocean is mighty and the wind has its will.
Now Indianola, she’s only a ghost on the jagged shoreline of the old Texas coast where the howling wild wind once raised up its hand and buried her dreams in the sand.
“My name is Isaac, I came here to bury the lost souls who perished that day when the ocean rose twenty miles onto on the prairie and washed it all into the bay. And nothing that stood could escape the concussion of an angry wave riding on a hurricane wind, her homes torn asunder and splintered to driftwood, till Indianola could not rise again.”
And nothing was left but a few broken spirits who wondered aloud where their fortunes might be, and the vibrant port city of Indianola now lies in the basin of God’s angry sea.
“My name is Brian, I’ve traveled from Fort Worth
to stand where the sea meets the plains.
Where Sieur de La Salle first sailed into Texas,
now only his statue remains,
and nobody comes here but seagulls and tourists,
and not much remains but a few ragged scars,
so I came here to take off my hat in her honor
with a digital camera and a six-string guitar...”
Now Indianola, she’s only a ghost on the jagged shoreline of the old Texas coast where the howling wild wind can raise up its hand and bury your dreams in the sand.
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