Bertha, Indianola was never a Port of Entry, at least prior to the early 1900's. The only two established Ports of Entry (after Texas became a State) were New Orleans and Galveston. I believe that Brownsville later became an established Port of Entry. However, Indianola was never a Port of Entry, mainly because of the extremely shallow bays that led to Indianola. These shallow waters made the sailing ships of that era impossible to traverse. Almost all the ships from Germany had to first dock and go through customs and immigration at Galveston. Smaller schooners that could navigate the shallow bay waters leading into Carlshaven (Indianola) then ferried the immigrants (that wanted to go) from Galveston to Indianola. One historian said that these schooners could only carry about 35 people, including the crew. Actually, Indianola was the jumping off place for most of the German immigrants who settled in Central Texas and beyond, but they first had to go through Galveston's Port of Entry. This by itself was often a long wait for the German settlers who could not get off of the ship until they had cleared quarantine and immigration. For example, on December 21, 1845, the "Johann Dethardt" from Bremen sailed into Galveston Bay. However, it was January 12, 1846 before the boat and its passengers cleared quarantine and customs. Ellis Island (as were numerous other ports) was another Port of Entry for the Northeastern settlers. The sail ships that came from Bremen or other parts of Germany followed a path from Breman around the northern horn of Germany into the English Channel. Once they traversed and cleared the English Channel, they attempted to stay clear of the North Atlantic waters which were usually quite treacherous, and sailed further South. They used Bermuda as a beacon point and then the Bahama Islands, and then the strait between Key West and Cuba. Cuba was an established island at that time, where Key West was only a land marker. They then sailed either to New Orleans or Galveston (either being a Port of Entry). Bill Sanders Spring, Texas bsand@texas.net