History of Bee County:

In 1835, Irish settlers founded what is now known as Beeville in Bee County. Located in the heart of the Coastal Bend, Beeville is the gateway to the South Texas Brasada, Spanish for Brush County. Bee County has numerous appeals with cultural, natural, historical and recreational attractions.

For the person with cultural interests, Texas Monthly, in its September 2004 issue, named Beeville one of the four best small towns in Texas for art. The Beeville Art Museum is one of the reasons. The museum, housed in the historic Esther Barnhart House and funded by the Joe Barnhart Foundation, has exhibited some of Texas’ finest contemporary artists as well as collections housed at Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts and the San Antonio Museum of Art. Coastal Bend College’s Simon Michael Art Gallery hosts rotating exhibits on a regular basis, including the work of many local artists. Coastal Bend College, a community institution with two year degree programs, also houses one the only two public, fully functioning glass blowing facilities in Texas. Tours are welcome and classes are offered weekly in the early summer months.

Other cultural attractions include the state-of-the-art Joe Barnhart Bee County Library, technologically, one of the first of its kind in the United States. The Beeville Concert Association’s annual concert season is chock full of visiting performers from Lluvia de Estrellas and The Gateway Brass (US Air Force Band of the West) to The San Antonio Symphony.

Springtime brings colorful displays of wildflowers to rural Bee County. In 1999 Southern Living magazine said “Bee County was buzzin’ last year when – thanks to generous winter rains- wildflowers were at their absolute best. It was a time of incredible bounty and unending beauty. The variety and depth of the colors is remarkable.”

Wildlife is plentiful in the area, making Bee County a hunter’s, birder’s or photographer’s paradise. With an abundance of deer, dove, quail and wild hogs, every sportsman will find his or her proper challenge. The area is colorfully alive with many species of birds such as, native Texan, Green Jays or Painted Buntings. Many of the local ranches offer photographers the opportunity to “catch their prey” in natural habitat. For the history buff, Bee County offers plenty of historic sites to see and study. The Berclair Mansion and the McClanahan House are two examples, along with the Calaboose Museum in Skidmore and the Mercantile Store in Mineral.

In 2005, Beeville is honored to be named a Texas Main Street City and the community has begun the process of revitalizing the historic downtown district of the city so successfully that in 2006 Beeville was named a National Main Street City. In that process, an abundance of shopping opportunities are being developed. Come stroll down the wide, quiet avenue into quaint gift shops and tea rooms.

For the more athletic, the Beeville Country Club’s golf course was named by the Dallas Morning News as one of the best 9-hole golf courses in Texas. And the newly built livestock arena at the Bee County Exposition Center is one of the few covered outdoor facilities of its kind in South Texas.

Bee County has a tradition of celebrations. The Junior Livestock Show and Sale takes place every January. Each September the community commemorates its rich Hispanic heritage with the Diez Y Seiz Festival in Downtown Beeville and October brings the Western Week Celebration, a long time community tradition, with the annual Bee County Chamber of Commerce Parade that dates from the 1940s.

Best Western Texan Inn                                              
(361) 358-9999
2001 E. Hwy 59
Beeville, TX 78102
book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern

Hancock House Bed & Breakfast
(361) 318-0339
401 S. Kathleen
Beeville, TX 78102

Beeville Executive Inn
(361) 358-4100
1601 N. St Mary’s
Beeville, TX 78102

Holiday Inn Express & Suites
(361) 358-7300
2199 Highway 59 East
Beeville, TX 78102
www.hiexpress.com

Esquire Motel
(361) 358-4451
3609 N. St. Mary's
Beeville, TX 78102

Motel 6
(361) 358-4000
400 S. 181 Bypass
Beeville, TX 78102
www.motel6.com

El Camino Motel
(361) 358-2141
1500 N. E. Washington St.
Beeville, TX 78102
www.innbeeville.com 

Star Lite Motel
(361) 358-4118
1211 N. St. Mary’s St.
Beeville, TX 78102

Rolling Oaks Bed & Breakfast
(361) 362-2716
180 CR 327  
George West, TX  78022
www.relaxatrollingoaks.com

Hilltop Mobile Home Ranch
(361) 358-9595 
1300 Hill Top Ranch Road Private

Bee County Expo Center
(361) 362-3290
HWY 351 West

American

Church’s Chicken #481
(361) 358-9506
605 N. Washington St.
Beeville, TX 78102

McDonald’s #31804
(361) 354-5333
502 E. FM 351
(Inside Wal-Mart)
Beeville, TX 78102

Burger Depot
(361) 362-2400
Beeville, TX 78102

Sonic Drive-In
(361) 358-7925
2000 N. St. Mary’s
Beeville, TX 78102

Dairy Queen North
(361) 358-2204
1610 N. St. Mary’s St.
Beeville, TX 78102

Stars
(361) 358-6352
2403 N. St. Mary’s St.
Beeville, TX 78102

Dairy Queen of Pettus #3
(361) 375-2571
90571 Main St.
Pettus, TX 78146

Whataburger, Inc.
(361) 358-8454
ww.whataburger.com
1710 N. St. Mary’s St
Beeville, TX 78102

Dairy Queen of Skidmore #2
(361) 287-3521
218 N. 8th St.
Skidmore, TX 78389

Pantry Convenience Store (South)
(361) 358-8477
911 S. Washington St.
Beeville, TX 78102

Dairy Queen of Beeville West
(361) 358-4144
2301 W. Corpus Christi St.
Beeville, TX 78102

Pantry Convenience Store (East)
(361) 358-8602
1720 E. Houston St.
Beeville, TX 78102

Golden Chick
(361) 358-5525
2305 N. St. Mary’s
Beeville, TX 78102

Pantry Convenience Store (West)
(361) 358-9213
Hwy 59 & 351
Beeville, TX 78102

Kentucky Fried Chicken
(361) 358-7222
200 E. Houston St.
Beeville, TX 78102

The Lodge at Shorty’s Place
(361) 358-7302
702 S. Washington
Beeville, TX 78102

McDonald's of Beeville
(361) 358-4770
2301 N. St. Mary’s
Beeville, TX 78102

Oriental

Hong Kong Palace
(361) 358-2861
301 W. Hwy 351
Beeville, TX 78102

New China Super Buffet
(361) 358-8889 
2003 N. St. Mary’s St
Beeville, TX 78102

Bar & Grill

Bee Family Fun Center
(361) 358-5959
3900 N. St. Mary’s St.
Beeville, TX 78102

Chili's Grill & Bar
(361) 354-5600
www.chilis.com
400 E. FM 351
Beeville, TX 78102

Scores Bar and Grill
(361) 358-5055
1506 N. St. Mary’s St.
Beeville, TX 78102

BBQ

Elder's Country Store & Market, Inc.
(361) 358-4036
1600 N. St. Mary’s St.
Beeville, TX 78102

German

Gasthaus Berliner Bear
(361) 354-5444
2510 N. St. Mary’s St.
Beeville, TX 78102

Homestyle/Bakery

Chisholm Trail Café
304 N. 8th St.
Skidmore, TX 78389

Donut Palace
(361) 358-9515
400 E. Houston
Beeville, TX 78102

Hensley's Ca-fae & Tea Room
(361) 358-8414
307 N. Washington St.
Beeville, TX 78102

Mexican

Artie’s Café
(361) 358-1467
417 N. Washington St.
Beeville, TX 78102

Taqueria Chapala
(361) 354-5945
1805 N. St. Mary's St.
Beeville, TX 78102

El Jardin Restaurant & Bakery
(361) 358-2922
806 W. Corpus Christi St.
Beeville, TX 78102

Taqueria Jalisco
(361) 354-5803
2006 N. St. Mary’s St.
Beeville, TX 78102

Jalisco Mexico Taqueria
(361) 362-0841
1401 W. Corpus Christi
Beeville, TX 78102

Taqueria Vallarta
(361) 358-4231
1611 S. Washington
Beeville, TX 78102

Jalisco Mexico Taqueria #2
300 E. Houston St.
Beeville, TX 78102

Mi Familia Restaurant
(361) 358-9255
2017-A N. St. Mary’s St.
Beeville, TX 78102

Wicker Basket
(361) 358-8638
300 N. Washington St.
Beeville, TX 78102

Hogue’s Jewelry
(361) 358-3859
202 N. Washington
Beeville, TX 78102

Schulz & Wroten Pharmacy Inc.
(361) 358-1150
122 N. Washington St.
Beeville, TX 78102

Shorty’s Place
(361) 358-7302
702 S. Washington
Beeville, TX 78102

Bella’s Cottage Inc.
(361) 358-9449

Canine Country Grooming
(210) 315-0124
Corner of Main & Hahl Streets
Tuleta, TX

Full Circle Antiques
(361) 358-7125
303 N. Washington
Beeville, TX 78102

Historic Park Hotel Antiques Shoppe
(361) 375-2558
8937 N. Hwy 181
Tuleta, TX

Clothes Encounters
(361) 362-9705
1500 N. St. Mary's