Census.gov is down. High Island's 1990 population was around 500, according to a few other websites. It's actually in the tail end of Galveston County, not Chambers. But Chambers County lies directly to the north. It is built on a salt dome. From Texasescapes.com (I haven't fixed the typos):
HIGH ISLAND, TEXAS
Galveston County, Texas Gulf Coast
State Highway 87
State Highway 124
21 miles South of Winnie
26 miles N of Port Bolivar
Population: 500
History in a Pecan Shell
Appropriately named, High Island's altitude of 38-feet makes it the highest point on the Gulf Coast between Mobile, Alabama, and Campeche, Mexico. The name is credited to Anson Jones who referred to the area as "the High Islands" in 1845. Jean Lafitte's cabin boy retired there in the 1870s. His house was restored in the 1970s and he's buried nearby. Naturally, there are rumors of a buried treasure.
The first Anglo settler moved to High Island in 1845. The area didn't gather a population - except when storms hit the coast. A post office wasn't opened until 1897. In the 1890s the the mineral springs were purchased and promoted. The business, which thrived in the late 1890s, was destroyed in the 1900 strorm.
An initial search for oil after the Spindletop discovery proved fruitless, but it was finally discovered in the 1930s - providing an economic boost to the region. Today, touism drives the High Island economy with two bird sanctuaries as well as a fishing pier.
http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasGulfCoastTowns/High-Island-Texas.htm"...High Island's altitude of 38-feet makes it the highest point on the Gulf Coast between Mobile, Alabama, and Campeche, Mexico." Driving south toward's High Island on Hwy 124, the rise in elevation was clearly evident in the distance. I didnt realize it was only 38 feet, however. But that sure is higher than Galveston.