Maryland native Joshua James Hall migrated to Texas and purchased a land grant in 1839 on the east side of the Trinity River. Hall and his son, James Madison Hall, established a port and ferry on the Trinity River as a shipping point for Houston County settlers. The Community of Hall's Bluff developed around the ferry in the mid-19th century, and included a general store, post office, churches and a school. Unreliable shipping due to weather-related problems and the arrival of the railroad in the 1870s, caused the port to decline and eventually most residents moved away.