The Karankawa Indians were living a nomadic existence in the region when Spaniards, led by Alonso Álvarez de Pineda, probed the coast in 1519.

Governor Francisco de Garay of Jamaica had commissioned him to explore the Gulf Coast from Florida to Vera Cruz.

Jean took an old Spanish ship that had been captured in Florida during the war with Spain, christened it St. Joseph, and his travels resulted in the rediscovery of the Aransas Pass.

Jean Lafitte and his buccaneers spent time on the Texas coast; Galveston owed its start to him, and Mustang Island was one of his favorite haunts.

For this, permanent structures were required to house the pilots, including docks, a lighthouse, storage, jetties, and a general store.

Designated keeper in charge of the 8th District Life Saving Station on Mustang Island was John G. Mercer.

New bricks arrived in 1856, soon followed by the lantern room that would be set on top, and lastly a fourth order Fresnel lens.

Around the start of the American Civil War, the lens was taken out of the lantern room of the lighthouse and hidden in the marshlands behind the structure.

Then, Marines off the Navy vessel USS Afton surged ashore on San Jose Island and leveled the small town of Aransas, burning most of the houses, structures, warehouses, piers, docks, and wharf sometime in February 1862.

Though Lt. J. W. Kittredge attempted the expropriation of Corpus Christi from the Southern forces, Maj. Alfred M. Hobby and troops sent the Union ships sailing away.

On Christmas Day of 1862, a move was made by Confederate General John B. Magruder, who authorized a detachment of troops to commence the ruination of the lighthouse tower.

Gunpowder kegs were clustered inside the tower and lit, resulting in the damaging of 20–25 feet of brickwork, the glass housing case, and the round stairwell.

Edwin E. Hobby's Confederate company assaulted the Union garrison set to protect the lighthouse and killed 20 soldiers.

But their victory would not be long lived as the Union comprehended the significance of the pass, and in November, federal troops under T. C. G. Robinson came back and regained control of the island.

Because the Tarpon Inn was built with impressive reinforcements and a protected shelter, it has housed many residents during storms and has served as headquarters for the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and military units.

Some of the people who have stayed at the Tarpon Inn include: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who fished there in 1937; Duncan Hines, who spent his honeymoon there; Hedy Lamarr; Victor McLaglen; Aimee Semple McPherson; Clyde Beatty; Bob Lilly; and physicist Edward Teller.

In June 1890, Mr. Ropes launched the project to build a channel across the island to give the port of Corpus Christi a direct connection with the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico.

The project was finished by 1911; while this was still going on, and after several private and government endeavors failed to produce a deep-water pass between Mustang and St. Joseph islands, the United States Army Corps of Engineers took over the project in 1907, and was granted the right to build a new south "Nelson" jetty and to unite the "Haupt jetty" to St. Joseph Island that same year.

After the railroad closed in 1947, it was used only to transport automobiles until 1960, when the state built a modern road to Harbor Island from Corpus Christi and the ferry landing.

In 1935, Dr. E. J. Lund, a zoologist from the University of Texas, traveled to Port Aransas to investigate a massive fish kill.

Dr. Lund recognized the value of the local environment and the need for public education about the natural resources of the Gulf of Mexico and gradually rekindled interest in marine science at the university.

This building is still there today and serves as a dormitory where students relax on an old-fashioned porch and watch ships and dolphins almost at the doorstep on the Aransas Pass.

In the early 20th century, tarpon fishing began to attract anglers and tourists from across America to Port Aransas.

The boats of the day were not designed to handle the rough Gulf Coast waters and storms in the early 20th century wiped out the existing charter fleet.

In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Port Aransas and while Congress was debating his Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937, he fished for tarpon.

Though he had a successful outing, Don said, "I can't believe he caught so many because of the secret service running around on boats in the water."

Port Aransas suffered major damage as a result of the landfall of Hurricane Harvey in August 2017,[16] with wind speeds of 132 mph (212 km/h, 59 m/s) being recorded.

Port Aransas has now become a fishing, beach, and resort village, with summer populations sometimes swelling to 60,000 or more, as well as a college spring-break destination.

The area experiences an average annual rainfall of 35.55 inches (903 mm), with prevailing winds out of the southeast from the Gulf of Mexico.

Port Aransas has begun the construction of a natural preservation area that will provide hiking trails and other nature-related tourist activities.