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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. |
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A
livery stable in early Port Arthur.
Photo courtesy Museum of the Gulf Coast |
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The Port Arthur Depot today is in use as a residence.
Photo by John Troesser, 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." |
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Bust
of Arthur Stilwell
Photo Courtesy Museum of the Gulf Coast |
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Protrait
of John Gates in the Gates Memorial Library
Photo Courtesy Gates Memorial Library |
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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 |
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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.
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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.
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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/
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Port Arthur
Texas Forum
Anyone wishing
to share history, stories or photos of Port Arthur, Texas, please
contact
us.
© John Troesser |
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