BEAUMONT, TEXAS

'Beaumont' is a city and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas and is within the Beaumont-Port Arthur metropolitan area. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 113,866. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the Gulf Coast.
Lamar University is based in Beaumont. The city's daily newspaper is ''The Beaumont Enterprise'', while ''The Examiner'' is published weekly.
Gulf States Utilities had its headquarters in Beaumont until its absorption by Entergy Corporation in 1993. GSU's Edison Plaza headquarters is still the tallest building in Beaumont (as of 2007). Since 1907, Beaumont has been home of the South Texas State Fair. In 2004, the venue for the Fair changed to Ford Park, a new, larger facility on the west end of Beaumont.

Contents

History

Politics and Government

Geography

Climate

Severe weather events

Demographics

Employment

Points of interest

Education

Media

Famous People from Beaumont

Famous Businesses from Beaumont

Events in Beaumont

Transportation

Highways

Public Transit

Airports

References

External links

History

Main articles: History of Beaumont, Texas

The city of Beaumont was named by Henry Millard for the family of his deceased wife, Natchez, Mississippi, belle Mary Dewburleigh Barlace Warren Beaumont. Historic Beaumont: An Illustrated History, , Ellen Walker, Rienstra, Historical Publishing Network, , 1893619281 Millard came to Texas in 1835 and, along with his business partners, purchased some land between the settlements of Tevis Bluff and Santa Anna. On this property, they founded the city of Beaumont.
Beaumont became a town on December 16, 1838. Beaumont's first mayor was Alexander Calder. Historic Beaumont: An Illustrated History, , Ellen Walker, Rienstra, Historical Publishing Network, , 1893619281
Beaumont was a small center for cattle raisers and farmers in its early years, and with an active riverport by the late 1800s, it became an important lumber and rice-milling town. The Beaumont Rice Mill, founded in 1892 by Joseph Eloi Broussard, was the first commercial rice mill in Texas. Beaumont's lumber boom, which reached its peak in the late 1800s, was due in large part to the rebuilding and expansion of the railroads after the Civil War. By the early 1900s, the city was served by the Southern Pacific, Kansas City Southern, Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe, and Missouri Pacific railroad systems.
Oil was discovered at nearby Spindletop on January 10, 1901. Spindletop became the first major oil field and one of the largest in American history. With the discovery of oil at Spindletop, Beaumont's population grew from 3,296 in 1890 to 9,427 in 1900.
A race riot took place in Beaumont in June 1943 after a white woman said she had been raped by a black man.[1]
In 1996, the Jefferson County courts, located in Beaumont, became the first court in the nation to implement electronic filing and service of court documents, eliminating the need for law firms to print and mail reams of documents.
In 2005, Beaumont and surrounding areas suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Rita. A mandatory evacuation was imposed upon its residents for about two weeks.

Politics and Government

Main articles: Politics of Beaumont, Texas

Beaumont is a council-manager form of government. Elections are held annually, with the Mayor and Council members each serving two-year terms. All powers of the City are vested in the Council, which enacts local legislation, adopts budgets, and determines policies. Council is also responsible for appointing the City Attorney, the City Clerk and Magistrates, and the City Manager. The city council is comprised of two councilmembers-at-large, and four councilmembers representing four Wards of the city. Mayor and City Council

'Position'		'Name'	'Elected to Current Position'	'Areas Represented'Council Districts
	Mayor	Becky Ames	2007 - present	Citywide
	At Large Position 1	W.L. Pate Jr.	2007 - present	Citywide
	At Large Position 2	Gethrel "Get" Williams-Wright	2007 - present	Citywide
	Ward 1	Dr. Alan Coleman	2007 - present	North Beaumont
	Ward 2	Nancy Beaulieu	2003 - present	West Beaumont
	Ward 3	Audwin M. Samuel	1984-1992, 1999-Present	Central Beaumont
	Ward 4	Jamie D. Smith	2007 - present	South Beaumont

Geography

Beaumont is on Texas' coastal plain, about 30 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and just south of the dense pine forests of East Texas. The city is bordered on the east by the Neches River and to the north by Pine Island Bayou. Before being settled, the area was crisscrossed by numerous small streams. Most of these streams have since been filled in or converted for drainage purposes.
Beaumont is located at (30.079912, -94.126653).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 222.6 km² (85.9 mi²). 220.2 km² (85.0 mi²) of it is land and 2.4 km² (0.9 mi²) of it (1.07%) is water.

Climate

Main articles: Climate of Beaumont, Texas

Beaumont has a subtropical climate with mild winters and warm, humid summers. The most recent snow event was December 24, 2004, the first such occurrence since 1989. The area suffered a severe ice storm in 1997. The climate type is humid sub-tropical.

Severe weather events

Several hurricanes have left their mark on Beaumont.
In 1957, Hurricane Audrey, a strong category 4 hurricane (borderline category 5 at times), came onshore straight up the Texas/Louisiana border, causing massive flooding and wind damage. 390 people lost their lives (other estimates show over 500), mostly in Louisiana due to drowning.
In 1961, Hurricane Carla, the largest storm in terms of size, affected the entire Texas coastline from Jefferson County to Brownsville. Carla caused millions of dollars in damage and still remains the strongest storm to strike the Texas coast. Beaumont suffered tornadoes and massive flooding due to poor drainage.
Beaumont lived without a hurricane landfall until June 26 1986. On that day, Hurricane Bonnie roared through the region with maximum winds at 90 miles per hour^[1] (gusts to 125 mph) creating a havoc on local roadways because of the massive amounts of rain dumped on the area. Some regions received upwards of 10-15 inches of rain, flooding homes and businesses. Many mobile home parks were destroyed, people were displaced, and some area businesses never recovered. Three people lost their lives in Bonnie.
The region had some hits and misses but none more so than in 1992 when Hurricane Andrew threatened the area. Beaumont was under a hurricane warning, and evacuation procedures took place. It was rough going for the evacuation, which became the largest peacetime evacuation in the United States since Hurricane Carla in 1961. Andrew missed the Beaumont area, but it was a scare that still haunts the area today.
More recently, Beaumonters dealt with Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. Beaumont and the vicinity did not experience the damage and destruction that Houston got. Homes are still abandoned due to massive flooding that took place because of the non stop five-day rainfall. Total rainfall amounts associated with Allison reached the 20 inch mark in most towns and cities in Southeast Texas.
Hurricane Lili threatened the area in 2002 as a category 4 hurricane and prompted another "Andrew-style" evacuation. Though large, the evacuation went relatively smoothly and didn't mirror the 1992 evacuation. Lili veered north into central Louisiana and did not significantly affect the Beaumont region.
Hurricane Rita hit the city on September 24, 2005, leveling many buildings and leaving remaining residents without power. Virtually every building in the town was damaged, some even destroyed. Thousands of tall pine trees were toppled and hundreds of Beaumont's grand old oak trees were uprooted. Hurricane Rita hit Southeast Texas and veered into Eastern Louisiana as a strong Category 3 storm. Many residents of Jefferson County evacuated to northern counties only to find themselves swarmed by dozens of tornadoes that had been spawned by the storm. It was two weeks before residents were allowed to reenter the city. A curfew from dusk to dawn was imposed for a little more than one month.
Hurricane Rita is the largest and most damaging hurricane to hit Beaumont to date. Causing more than $7 billion in insured damage, Rita was among the top ten costliest storms in United States history.
On May 29, 2006, a more typical rain event in Beaumont and surrounding areas received 10 to 15 inches of rain during the morning hours. Numerous homes were flooded, but no major flooding occurred. Several vehicles also became trapped in high water on some low-lying roads and highway underpasses.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 113,866 people, 44,361 households, and 29,100 families residing in the city. The population density was 517.2/km² (1,339.4/mi²). There were 48,815 housing units at an average density of 221.7/km² (574.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 46.39% Caucasian, 45.85% African American, 0.24% Native American, 2.48% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.55% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.93% of the population.
There were 44,361 households out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 18.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,559, and the median income for a family was $40,825. Males had a median income of $35,861 versus $24,255 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,632. About 16.4% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.6% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.

Employment

'Top Ten Employers:'

★ Beaumont Independent School District Education - 2,840

★ Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital Health care - 2,500

★ Memorial Hermann Baptist Hospital Hospital - 2,250

★ ExxonMobil Petrochemical manufacturing - 2,150

★ Westvaco Paper mill - 1,690

★ U.S. Postal Service Encoding Center - 1,686 (closing in November 2007)

★ E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Petrochemical manufacturing - 1,450

★ City of Beaumont Government - 1,450

★ Lamar University University - 1,200

★ Huntsman Corporation Petrochemical manufacturing - 1,038

Points of interest

★ Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET), with its Perlstein Plaza, dedicated in memory of pioneer real estate developer Hyman Asher Perlstein (1869-1947), who arrived in Beaumont in 1889 as a poor Jewish immigrant from Lithuania and eventually became one of the city's major builders. The museum stands on the site of the Perlstein building, which was the tallest structure between Houston and New Orleans when it was erected in 1907. AMSET, formerly the Beaumont Art Museum, exhibits 19th-21st Century American art and offers 10-14 educational programs in any given year. Admission is free, and the museum is open seven days per week.

★ Beaumont Botanical Gardens

★ Beaumont's Sister City in Japan Beppu, Oita

★ Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum. Official website

★ Lamar University Official website

★ Thomas Alva Edison Museum Official website

★ John Jay French Museum. The John Jay French Museum is an historic home that has been converted into a museum. Its purpose is to illustrate the life of a prosperous Texas pioneer family from 1845-1865. The home, built in 1845 by French, a tanner and merchant, showcases period furnishings, clothing and pioneer household utensils. Outbuildings on the grounds include a blacksmith shop, tannery, privy and smokehouse. Official website

★ Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum. Museum dedicated to the life of the Beaumont native and accomplished athlete.Official website

★ Fire Museum of Texas - Home of one of world's largest fire hydrants. Antique fire trucks and equipment chronicle the history of firefighting in Texas. Educational programs stress the importance of fire safety. Official webstie

★ Crockett Street Entertainment Complex

★ Dishman Art Gallery

★ Julie Rogers Theater

★ The Art Studio, Inc. (TASI), a non-profit arts cooperative and art gallery space that rents subsidized space to visual artists. Also hosts poetry readings, music events, film screenings. Housed in a converted warehouse in the industrial district of Beaumont's downtown.

★ The Jefferson Theatre, built in 1927, is an historic theater that presents musical and stage performances as well as limited revival screenings of classic films. It is featured on the National Register of Historic Places and recognized as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. Official website

★ The McFaddin-Ward House, built in 1905-06 in the Beaux-Arts Colonial style. The structure and its furnishings reflect the lifestyle of the prominent family who lived in the house for seventy-five years. A very large historic home with a substantial carriage house. The entire grounds are currently a public museum with a substantial permanent collection of antique furniture and household items. Eductational programs focus on history and are geared toward children and adults. Official website

★ The Clifton Steamboat Museum opened its doors on October 26, 1995 with construction beginning in the earlier months of 1994. The theme of the museum is Heroes... Past, Present, and Future and honors our military and civilian heroes. The Clifton Steamboat Museum consists of a spacious 24,000 sqare feet, two-story museum that is handicap accessible, and contains various exhibits that are sure to individuals of all ages. Our museum art exhibits bring to life the wars fought in Southeast Texas and Louisiana, as well as the Steamboat Era, World Wars I and II, Korea, and Vietnam. Upper art galleries of the museum feature original bronze sculptures; Native American artists, wildlife, and frontier paintings from famous artists. A special gallery in the museum is dedicated to the Boy Scouts. This boy scouts gallery features many historical scouting artifacts, some dating back before the 1960's, and is sure to spark the interest of boy scouts past and present. There is also the tugboat, "Hercules", standing at 36 feet high, 22 feet wide, and 92 feet long which is included on the museum tour.
Official website

Education

Beaumont is served by the Beaumont Independent School District. One state university Lamar University and one two-year college Lamar Institute of Technology are also located in the city.

Media

Newspaper:

★ Beaumont Enterprise websiteBeaumont Enterprise (Daily)

★ Southeast Texas Live (Enterprise's Local Entertainment Website)

★ Examiner (Weekly)
Television:

★ KFDM 6 (CBS)/DT 6.1 with CW Network on 6.2 (note: RF channel is actually 21)

★ KBTV 4 (NBC)/DT 40 (Digital)

★ KBMT 12 (ABC)/DT 50 (No HD yet; just digital version of analog channel

★ KVHP 29 (FOX)/DT 30 (tower near Edgerly, LA; covers most of the Beaumont MSA)

★ KUIL 64 (FOX) Low power satellite station of KVHP 29 Lake Charles (Sometimes has different program)
Radio:

★ KIOC 106.1 Rock (Big Dog) Clear Channel

★ KCOL 92.5 Oldies (Cool 92.5) Clear Channel (audio makes it sound like an AM station)

★ KVLU 91.3 NPR located at Lamar University with HD-Radio

★ KYKR 95.1 Country (Kicker) Clear Channel

★ KAYD 101.7 Country (KD 101) Cumulus

★ KTCX 102.5 Urban (Magic 102.5) Cumulus

★ KQXY 94.1 Top 40 (Q94) Cumulus

★ KKMY 104.5 Adult Contemporary (The Mix) Clear Channel

★ KQBU 93.3 Regional Mexican (Que Buena) Univision (Based out of Houston; licensed to Port Arthur)

★ KQQK 107.9 Spanish Top 40 (XO "Equis O") Libermann (Based out of Houston; licensed to Beaumont)

★ KFNC 97.5 Sports/Talk (ESPN 97.5 The Ticket) Cumulus (serves Houston market; tower south of Winnie)

★ KIOL 103.7 Rock (Houston's Rock 103_7) Cumulus (serves Houston market; tower NW of Winnie)

★ KTJM 98.5 Regional Mexican (La Raza) Libermann (Based out of Houston; licensed to Port Arthur)

★ KHPT 106.9 "Best of the 80s and more" COX (serves Houston market from 2000ft Splendora tower)

★ KLVI 560 AM Talk/Fox News Clear Channel

★ KOLE 1340 AM //KRCM 1380 AM Fox Radio

★ KUHD 1150 AM Spanish (off air)

★ KZZB 990 AM Martin Broadcasting; poor range and low audio

★ KALO 1250 AM Catholic / Radio Maria

★ KIKR 1450 AM Regional Mexican "La Gran D" (simulcast on KBED 1510)

Famous People from Beaumont

★ Clay Buchholz - Pitcher for the Boston Red Sox

★ Ben Broussard - First Baseman for the Seattle Mariners. Often a backup to Richie Sexson despite being the superior player.

★ Kevin Millar - Baltimore Orioles first baseman

★ Kelly Asbury - Film Director/Author/Illustrator/Actor/Historian

★ Robert Laurel Crippen - Former NASA astronaut.

★ Blind Willie Johnson - African-American gospel singer and bottleneck guitar player

★ Herbert "Bert" Weaver - Professional Golfers' Association. First male from Beaumont to win PGA Tournament (1965 Jacksonville Open).

★ Charles C. Alexander - Accomplished writer and Professor of Baseball History at Ohio University

★ Kendrick Perkins - NBA player for the Boston Celtics. 4A State Basketball Championship. Attended Clifton J. Ozen Magnet High School

★ Charles A. "Bubba" Smith - NFL defensive end and actor

★ O.A. "Bum" Phillips - head coach Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints

★ Bruce Lietzke- PGA Tour golfer

★ Mark Williams- PBA bowler

★ Barbara Lynn - singer

★ Charlie Helpinstill - musician composer - goes by Ezra Charles performs in the Houston area

★ Tracy Byrd - singer

★ Keith Carter - photographer

★ Mark Chesnutt - singer

★ Bernard Parks - Los Angeles City Council member, former LAPD chief

★ Grady Hatton - MLB player

★ Gus Zernial - MLB player

★ Harry James - musician

★ George Jones - singer

★ Arban Severin - (nee Ornelas) composer, musician and actress married to Steven Severin (Siouxsie & the Banshees bassist and film scorer)

★ Johnny Winter - musician

★ Edgar Winter - musician

★ Jiles Perry Richardson (The Big Bopper) - musician

★ Mark Henry - professional wrestler

★ Mark Petkovsek - Major League Baseball Player

★ Benny Sims Jr.- Professional Tennis Coach

★ Larry Graham - musician

★ Tex Beaumont - Singer-songwriter

★ Aidan Black - Actor

★ Clay Walker - singer

★ T.J. Wright - NFL Defensive Back, Cincinnati Bengals, attended Ohio University and Clifton J. Ozen Magnet High School

★ Jerry LeVias - NFL Wide receiver, broke color barrier in Southwest Athletic Conference @ Southern Methodist University after graduating from Hebert High School

★ Jerry Ball - NFL DT, spent majority of career w/ Detroit Lions, attended Southern Methodist University, FB & LB on 1982 5A State Champion West Brook Senior High School

★ Louie Kelcher - NFL DT, San Diego Chargers & San Francisco 49ers, attended Southern Methodist University and French High School

★ Frank Robinson - Major League Baseball Player & Manager - Hall of Famer, first player to win MVP in both leagues, won AL Triple Crown & World Series MVP in 1966, and ended career with 586 home runs

★ Doug Ault - Major League Baseball player, Toronto Blue Jays

★ Lawrence Vickers - who currently plays fullback for the Cleveland Browns in the NFL.

★ Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza, Archbishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston (Texas).

★ James Brown (football player) - American football QB attended University of Texas and West Brook Senior High School.

★ Brandon Rideau - who currently plays Wide receiver for the Chicago Bears in the NFL. 4A Basketball State Championship. Attended University of Kansas and Clifton J. Ozen Magnet High School

★ Robert Glasper - a jazz musician signed to Blue Note Records.

★ Irma P. Hall - actress

★ Buddy Johnson - ACM, CMA, Grammy Nominated Disk Jockey...KYKR, KLVI, KKRM,

Famous Businesses from Beaumont

★ The Texas Company - Founded in 1902 became Texaco; Web Site, now owned/part of Chevron formmerly the Gulf Oil Company.

★ Gulf Oil - Gulf Oil Company founded 1901 Web Site, now Chevron

★ Magnolia Petroleum Company - Startup began in Corsicana in 1898, but became a major company in Beaumont in 1901. Owned KFDM radio, now 560 KLVI in the 30s through the 50s. Its refinery in Beaumont along with Texas Oil Co. & Gulf's in Port Arthur, TX were 3 of the largest in the world. Magnolia later sold 45% ownership to Standard Oil of NY, Socony. Combined companies years later into Mobil now ExxonMobil

★ Humble Oil - 50% of Humble Oil sold to Standard Oil of NJ to build its first refinery in Baytown. Merged and renamed Mobil 1972. Now ExxonMobil

★ Port of Beaumont - Young town of Beaumont grew quicker around this harbor about 1840 and would mark the spot that would become the port. Ranks consistently among the top 5 ports in the country for tonnage Web Site

★ Conn's - Chain of Appliance and Electronic stores Web Site

★ Jason's Deli - Fast Casual chain with locations in 20 states. Web Site

★ Sweet Leaf Tea - Bottled teas Web Site

★ M & I Electric - Manufacturer for offshore drilling and petrochemical refining equipment, now American Electric Technologies, Inc. based in Houston

★ ENGlobal - Engineering firm, Worldwide Web Site

★ Helena Laboratories - Manufactures medical testing equipment Web Site

★ Zummo Sausage

Events in Beaumont

★ Scooter Club Golden Triangle[2][3]

★ South Texas State Fair

★ Dog Jam

Transportation

Highways

Beaumont is served by Interstate 10, an east-west freeway linking the city to Houston, New Orleans, Lake Charles and other points in between. In addition, it is also served by U.S. 90 (College Avenue), U.S. 69, U.S. 96 and U.S. Route 287 (Cardinal Drive and Eastex Freeway - not to be confused with Eastex Freeway in Houston), State Hwy. 124 and State Hwy. 105. Spur 380, locally known as MLK Expressway, runs into the eastern part of the city to downtown.

Public Transit

Beaumont is served by a bus transit agency called Beaumont Municipal Transit, or BMT. It runs nine bus routes from Dannenbaum Station to various parts of the city Monday through Saturday every week from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Airports

Southeast Texas Regional Airport west of the city of Nederland provides limited commercial aviation services for Beaumont and Port Arthur residents.
Beaumont Municipal Airport is within the city of Beaumont and only has general aviation facilities.

References

1. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/tracks1851to2005_atl.txt

External links

★ City of Beaumont

★

★ Beaumont Enterprise

★ The Examiner

★ The Enterprise's Local Entertainment Website

★ KBTV Channel 4(NBC)

★ KFDM Channel 6(CBS)

★ KBMT Channel 12 (ABC)

★ KIOC 106.1 (Big Dog)

★ Art Museum of Southeast Texas

★ Fun365Days.com -- regional tourism web site

★ Beaumont Convention and Tourist Bureau

★ Partnership of Southeast Texas -- regional economic development site