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Texas City, Texas
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Texas City, Texas
Texas City is a city in Galveston County, Texas (with some water area in Chambers County), United States. Located on the southwest shoreline of Galveston Bay, Texas City is a deepwater port on the Gulf Coast and a petroleum refining and petrochemical manufacturing center. Its population was 51,898 at the 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in Galveston County, behind League City and Galveston. It is part of the Houston metropolitan area. Texas City was the site of a major explosion in 1947 that demolished much of the city and its port.
Three duck hunters in 1891 noted that a location along Galveston Bay, known locally as Shoal Point, had the potential to become a major port. Shoal Point had existed since the 1830s, when veterans of the Texas Revolution (1835–1836) were awarded land for their services. The name was applied to the community when a post office opened in 1878. The duck hunters were Benjamin, Henry, and Jacob Myers, three brothers from Duluth, Minnesota. After they returned to Duluth, they formed the Myers Brothers syndicate, and convinced other investors to put up money to buy 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares) of Galveston Bay frontage, including Shoal Point. They renamed the area Texas City.
By 1893, the investors had formed the Texas City Improvement Company (TCIC), which plotted and filed the townsite plan. A post office opened in 1893 with Frank B. Davison as the town's first postmaster, to serve about 250 people who had moved there from Minnesota and Michigan. TCIC also received the federal government's permission to dredge an eight-foot channel in the bay from Bolivar Roads (at the east end of Galveston Island) to serve Texas City. In 1894, the channel was first used commercially. TCIC eventually dredged the channel to a 40-foot depth and extended the length of the port to 1.5 mi. TCIC also built a four-mile railroad to the Texas City Junction south of town, where it connected to two other rail lines: Galveston, Houston and San Antonio and Galveston-Houston and Henderson.
Despite these successes, the TCIC went bankrupt in 1897. Its assets were reorganized and then split into two new companies: Texas City Company (TCC) and Texas City Railway Terminal Company (TCRTC). TCC acquired 3,000 city lots and provided water, natural gas, and electricity to the town. TCRTC operated the railroad. These companies were chartered on February 4, 1899.
A grid of streets and avenues was laid out during the 1890s, and houses and other structures began to appear. The Davison Home, where the first childbirth in the town took place, was constructed between 1895 and 1897. As the TCIC, TCC, and TCRTC grew, urbanization expanded.
Permission was granted in 1900 to dredge the Texas City channel to a depth of 25 feet. The disastrous Galveston Hurricane of 1900 interrupted the project, washing the dredge ashore, but the Texas City port remained open after the storm passed. Even before the dredging was complete, the first ocean-going ship, SS Piqua, arrived at the port from Mexico on September 28, 1904. Dredging was completed on March 19, 1905, when the US government opened a customs house in Texas City. Port growth progressed rapidly from 12 ships in 1904 to 239 in 1910.
TCRC was chartered in 1908 to build a refinery next to the port facility. For several years, it was the only Texas refinery capable of producing the byproducts wax and lubricating oil. It was later acquired and expanded by Texas oilman Sid Richardson. Three more refineries followed, making Texas City a major port for deepwater shipping of Texas petroleum products to the Atlantic Coast.
Texas City incorporated in 1911 with a mayor and commission form of government. It held its first mayoral election on September 16, which William P. Tarpey won.
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Texas City, Texas
Texas City is a city in Galveston County, Texas (with some water area in Chambers County), United States. Located on the southwest shoreline of Galveston Bay, Texas City is a deepwater port on the Gulf Coast and a petroleum refining and petrochemical manufacturing center. Its population was 51,898 at the 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in Galveston County, behind League City and Galveston. It is part of the Houston metropolitan area. Texas City was the site of a major explosion in 1947 that demolished much of the city and its port.
Three duck hunters in 1891 noted that a location along Galveston Bay, known locally as Shoal Point, had the potential to become a major port. Shoal Point had existed since the 1830s, when veterans of the Texas Revolution (1835–1836) were awarded land for their services. The name was applied to the community when a post office opened in 1878. The duck hunters were Benjamin, Henry, and Jacob Myers, three brothers from Duluth, Minnesota. After they returned to Duluth, they formed the Myers Brothers syndicate, and convinced other investors to put up money to buy 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares) of Galveston Bay frontage, including Shoal Point. They renamed the area Texas City.
By 1893, the investors had formed the Texas City Improvement Company (TCIC), which plotted and filed the townsite plan. A post office opened in 1893 with Frank B. Davison as the town's first postmaster, to serve about 250 people who had moved there from Minnesota and Michigan. TCIC also received the federal government's permission to dredge an eight-foot channel in the bay from Bolivar Roads (at the east end of Galveston Island) to serve Texas City. In 1894, the channel was first used commercially. TCIC eventually dredged the channel to a 40-foot depth and extended the length of the port to 1.5 mi. TCIC also built a four-mile railroad to the Texas City Junction south of town, where it connected to two other rail lines: Galveston, Houston and San Antonio and Galveston-Houston and Henderson.
Despite these successes, the TCIC went bankrupt in 1897. Its assets were reorganized and then split into two new companies: Texas City Company (TCC) and Texas City Railway Terminal Company (TCRTC). TCC acquired 3,000 city lots and provided water, natural gas, and electricity to the town. TCRTC operated the railroad. These companies were chartered on February 4, 1899.
A grid of streets and avenues was laid out during the 1890s, and houses and other structures began to appear. The Davison Home, where the first childbirth in the town took place, was constructed between 1895 and 1897. As the TCIC, TCC, and TCRTC grew, urbanization expanded.
Permission was granted in 1900 to dredge the Texas City channel to a depth of 25 feet. The disastrous Galveston Hurricane of 1900 interrupted the project, washing the dredge ashore, but the Texas City port remained open after the storm passed. Even before the dredging was complete, the first ocean-going ship, SS Piqua, arrived at the port from Mexico on September 28, 1904. Dredging was completed on March 19, 1905, when the US government opened a customs house in Texas City. Port growth progressed rapidly from 12 ships in 1904 to 239 in 1910.
TCRC was chartered in 1908 to build a refinery next to the port facility. For several years, it was the only Texas refinery capable of producing the byproducts wax and lubricating oil. It was later acquired and expanded by Texas oilman Sid Richardson. Three more refineries followed, making Texas City a major port for deepwater shipping of Texas petroleum products to the Atlantic Coast.
Texas City incorporated in 1911 with a mayor and commission form of government. It held its first mayoral election on September 16, which William P. Tarpey won.
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