The Champion Building

 

317 Railroad Ave.

 

    In the early 1840’s, five sons of Georgio Campeoni  sailed from Italy to New Orleans, where they joined with Zachary Taylor’s troops to help the war effort.  They  operated a Gulf fleet of chartered transport ships off Brazos Santiago Pass.  They changed their name to Champion to sound more American.  They built homes in Port Isabel for their families.  In 1849, Joseph Champion headed to California for the Gold Rush, and returned in 1 855.  His son, Charles Champion was born in Port Isabel on February 2, 1870.  He purchased the Hess General Merchandise store in 1894.  It was just a small frame structure.  

    In 1899, Champion erected a two-story brick building closer to the railroad, also the only street in Point Isabel.  He named it “The Key of the Gulf”, but everyone called it the Champion Store.  The first floor housed the general merchandise store, the  U.S. Customs House, the post office, and the railroad depot.  He lived with his wife and six children above the store.  He employed several people in his business ventures, and he paid them with Champion coins that he produced.  Before a visit by the U.S. Treasury agents, Charles Champion was reputed to have dumped the coins into seven wells on his property.    

    It was Charles Champion’s idea to paint the front of his store with the fish and marine life of the Gulf and Laguna Madre Bay.  The work was commissioned and performed by a Mexican artist named Jose Garcia Morelos.  It was doubly impressive as the painter had only one arm.  

    Charles Champion provided the impetus for the fishing industry in Port Isabel.  He also was a proponent of a deep water port  for the city.   He died in 1925.  He, along with his wife and several family members are buried in the Port Isabel  Cemetery.

    After his death, his children operated the store for a few years.  It sometimes stood empty, or was used for other businesses including several restaurants.  In 1992 the building became the property of the San Benito Bank and Trust Co.  Port Isabel acquired the building and restored it to the original 19th century condition and made it into a museum, depicting Port Isabel’s interesting history.

Be sure to visit the Champion Building Museum for much more information about Port Isabel history and a peek inside this important structure in the area’s history.