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PORT
ARTHUR , TEXAS
Jefferson County, Texas
Gulf Coast
Highway 87
On West Bank of Sabine Lake
17 miles
SE of Beaumont
90 miles E of Houston
5 miles E of the Neches River Rainbow Bridge
Population 57,755 (2000)
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History
in a 55-Gallon Drum
Arthur Edward Stilwell was born in Rochester, New York in 1859. As a teenager
he ran away from home to "seek his fortune." His gentile upbringing endeared him
to the movers and shakers of the period and they shared their knowledge with the
young man. By 1886, he had gone from traveling salesman to belt-line railroad
promoter. His first major project was a railway from Kansas City to Sabine
Pass, Texas, but Stilwell got sidetracked in Port Arthur.
In December
of 1895 Stilwell and Co. acquired property in Jefferson County and began platting
a city, which he modestly named after himself. |
| | A
livery stable in early Port Arthur.
Photo courtesy Museum of the Gulf
Coast |
| |
The Port Arthur Depot
today is in use as a residence.
TE Photo, 5-03 |
The
Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad (which later became the Kansas City Southern)
arrived in Port Arthur in 1897. Late that year Port Arthur had nearly 1,000 residents.
To become a seaport, Port Arthur needed a canal, so in April 1897 the Port Arthur
Channel and Dock Company began dredging a canal to the to deep water at Sabine
Pass (completed in 1899). Stilwell’s railroad went bankrupt in 1899 and he
lost interest in his dream.
In 1900 Stilwell announced an even more
ambitious project: to connect Kansas City to the Pacific Coast (through Mexico).
He founded Port Stilwell in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico. After bankruptcy and
another quest for a Pacific railroad connection, Stilwell turned to writing books
on finance. He then turned to poetry and novels. In his stories he let it be known
that his Port Arthur dreams had been advice from "brownies." |
| | Bust
of Arthur Stilwell
Photo Courtesy Museum of the Gulf Coast |
| | Protrait
of John Gates in the Gates Memorial Library
Photo Courtesy Gates Memorial
Library |
| Stilwell
was replaced by John W. (Bet-a Million) Gates, a man who had made a fortune in
barbed wire and who didn’t believe in brownies. Gates arrived in December 1899
just as Stilwell was leaving. Gates didn’t live too many years longer and in 1918,
Gates Memorial Library, was established by his widow as a memorial to her husband
(and her son). |
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Grain Elevator and Ship at the Port
Photo courtesy Museum of the Gulf
Coast |
| Port
Arthur became a port of entry in 1906 and two years later the canal was extended
up the Neches River to Beaumont and Orange.
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| | A
1902 painting shows that Port Authurians had Business Priorities
Courtesy
Museum of the Gulf Coast |
Stilwell
and Gates gave Port Arthur its start, but Spindletop
guaranteed its future. On January 10, 1901, the first big Texas oil boom blew
in. The household names of Gulf, Magnolia, Humble, and Texaco were all born with
Spindletop. Pipelines and refineries were built and their workers required housing
and stores. By 1914 Port Arthur was the second largest oil-refining point in the
U. S. The population jumped from 900 in 1900 to 7,000 in 1910. By 1930 it was
over 50,000.
Port Arthur refineries area employed some 12,000 workers
in 1950. Their salaries directly accounted for half of the city’s economy.
After the late 1960s, when the population reached a zenith of 69,000, a decline
began.
Port Arthur annexed Sabine Pass
in 1978.
Where
to Stay
Port
Arthur Hotels
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| Photo
courtesy Carl Owen, October 2010 |
| Bridges
The Neches River Rainbow Bridge, (1939) crosses the Neches River on
State Highway 87 between Port Arthur and Orange.
The Gulfgate Bridge
(since renamed the Martin Luther King Bridge) was built in the 1960s to
connect Port Arthur with Pleasure Island and Louisiana.
Where
to Stay
Port
Arthur Hotels |
| | Janis
Joplin
Perhaps Port Arthur's most famous personality, Janis Joplin now
has a memorabilia display in the Museum
Photo courtesy Museum of the
Gulf Coast |
Port
Arthur Tourists Information The
Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce
4749 Twin City Hwy, Suite 300
Port Arthur,
TX 77642
(409) 963-1107
The
Port Arthur Convention & Visitor's Bureau
3401 Cultural Center Drive Port
Arthur, TX 77642
1-800-235-7822
Website - http://www.portarthurtexas.com/
Where
to Stay
Port
Arthur Hotels
Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, and vintage/historic
photos of their town, please contact
us. | |
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