24/7 Trauma and Biohazard Cleanup in Palacios, TX

Palacios is a small city on Tres Palacios Bay, an arm of Matagorda Bay, and its name — Spanish for "palaces" — most likely honors José Félix Trespalacios, an early Mexican governor of Texas; the town was originally called Trespalacios before shortening its name.

The Palacios area was home to the Karankawa people, was explored by La Salle in 1685, and saw his flagship La Belle wrecked in the bay the following year, in 1686.

The modern town began in 1901 when ranch land from the estate of cattleman Abel "Shanghai" Pierce was bought by a development company, surveyed into lots, and paired with the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad; it was first settled as a community in 1903 and had its city government established by 1909.

By 1915 Palacios already had more than 100 businesses, a library, a weekly newspaper, numerous hotels, and a large entertainment pavilion built on a pier in the bay, and it thrived as a seaside resort town.

Palacios is home to about 400 shrimping vessels, making it the third-largest shrimping port on the Texas Gulf Coast, and it has proclaimed itself the "Shrimp Capital of Texas."

In 1926 Camp Hulen — originally Camp Palacios — opened nearby as a Texas National Guard training center, and during World War II the Palacios Army Airfield complex accommodated almost 15,000 soldiers and hosted stars like Rita Hayworth and Glenn Miller.

Palacios is famous among birders: since 1997 its Matagorda County–Mad Island Marsh Christmas Bird Count circle has consistently reported more bird species than anywhere else in the United States.

Palacios had 4,395 residents at the 2020 census.

The city covers about 5.3 square miles and brands itself Matagorda County's "City by the Sea."

Palacios made Texas history when Linh Chau became its mayor — he was the first Vietnamese mayor in Texas.