Calhoun County, Texas

6 local notes for Calhoun County — practical, plain-English, and pointed at the official source to confirm. Gulf Coast / Coastal Bend.

Money & Taxes

Property tax

Homestead Exemption Cuts Your School Tax Bill

Texas law requires school districts to subtract $140,000 from the appraised value of your primary home before calculating school taxes — but you must apply at the Calhoun County Appraisal District to claim it.

Property tax

Ag Valuation Taxes Land on Productivity, Not Market Price

Landowners who use property for farming, ranching, or qualifying wildlife management can apply for 1-d-1 open-space appraisal, which bases taxes on what the land can produce rather than its market value.

Home & Property

Coastal windstorm / TWIA

Coastal Properties Need Separate Windstorm Coverage

Calhoun County is one of the 14 first-tier coastal counties where standard homeowners policies typically exclude wind and hail, so most property owners need a separate TWIA policy.

Flood / Hurricane

Storm Surge Is the Biggest Hurricane Threat Here

Calhoun County's low coastal elevation makes it highly vulnerable to storm surge — rapidly rising ocean water that can travel miles inland during a hurricane — so knowing your flood zone and evacuation route matters before a storm forms.

Outdoors

Public lands / Fishing / Hunting

Matagorda Island WMA: Fishing, Hunting, and Camping by Boat Only

Matagorda Island Wildlife Management Area, accessible only by boat from Port O'Connor, offers 56,688 acres of barrier island for fishing, hunting, camping, and wildlife watching with no motorized vehicles allowed.

History & Culture

History

Indianola: The Calhoun County Port That Two Hurricanes Erased

Indianola was once one of the busiest ports in Texas, serving as a gateway for immigrants and frontier supply lines, before back-to-back hurricanes in 1875 and 1886 destroyed the town and pushed the county seat to Port Lavaca.