Palacios is on State Highway 35 halfway between Houston and Corpus Christi in the southwestern corner of Matagorda County. It is pronounced Puh-LASH-uhs and not the proper Spanish Pa-las-ee-ohs (Bill and Clare Bradfield, authors of Texas Towns from A to Z Pronunciation Guide, Three Forks Press 1996). Its name was said to come illusions of seeing three palaces by shipwrecked Spanish sailors. It is also thought that the Tres Palacios Bay, an inlet of Matagorda Bay off the Gulf of Mexico, and the town were actually named for José Félix Trespalacios. Cattle baron Abel H. (Shanghai) Pierce originally owned the land where Palacios is today but was bought from Pierce by The Texas Rice Development Company in 1901. In 1902, they sold the townsite to their own subsidiary which is The Palacios City Townsite Company, and the change from Trespalacios to Palacios was also made. Also, a hotel, railroad and post office was opened in 1903 and a pavilion was built the next year, 1904, which was also the time the oyster and seafood industry started. Palacios is an incorporated city with a mayor-council government. The city reached a population of 4,645 in 2017. Finally, there are 3 airports and 1 heliport in Palacios, including Palacios Municipal Airport (PSX) (Runways: 3), Kubecka Aviation Airport (3XS1) (Runways: 1), Trull Airport (XS35) (Runways: 1), and South Texas Project Heliport (0XS3) Wagner Heliport (TS43).
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