Kemah is located in Galveston County and is part of the Galveston, Texas metropolitan area. It lies on Hwy 146 in a half-moon pocket on the bay.
The community was established on the Texas and New Orleans Railroad about 1898 and called Evergreen; it was also known as Shell Siding in the period when the railroad hauled shell from the area. It was renamed Kemah, an Indian word meaning "facing the winds," for its position on the bay in 1907, when the post office opened.
Once considered a shrimping town, Kemah continues to celebrate an annual August Blessing of the Fleet. In 1990 the population was 1,094.
