Timeline of Beaumont, Texas

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Beaumont, Texas, USA.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

19th century

• 1838 – Beaumont site designated seat of Jefferson County.^[1]
• 1845 – John Jay French house (residence) built.^[2]
• 1872 – First Baptist Church established.^[3]
• 1876 – Lumber mill in business (approximate date).^[1]
• 1880 – Beaumont Enterprise newspaper begins publication.^[4]
• 1881
  • Beaumont Fire Company #1 organized.^[5]
  • Aldermanic form of government adopted.^[1]
• 1889 – Beaumont Journal newspaper begins publication.^[4]
• 1890 – Population: 3,296.^[6]
• 1892 – Rice mill in business.^[1]
• 1900 – Population: 9,427.^[6]

20th century

• 1901
  • January 10: Oil discovered at Spindletop.^[1]
  • Texas Fuel Company (later Texaco) in business.
  • Synagogue built.^[7]
• 1903
  • Chamber of Commerce founded.^[8]
  • YMCA built.^[3]
• 1907 – Beaumont Fair (later South Texas State Fair) begins.
• 1910 – Population: 20,640.^[6]
• 1913 – Port Arthur-Beaumont Interurban Railway begins operating.^[3]
• 1916 – River channel dug.^[1]
• 1917 – National Association for the Advancement of Colored People branch organized.^[9]
• 1918 – Rio Theatre in business.^[10]
• 1919 – "City-manager and commission form of government" adopted.^[1]
• 1920 – Population: 40,422.^[6]
• 1923 – Tyrrell Public Library founded.^[8]
• 1924 – KFDM radio begins broadcasting.^[11]
• 1925
  • November: More oil discovered at Spindletop.^[1]
  • Gulf States Utilities Company in business.^[12]
• 1927
  • "30-foot ship canal" dug.^[1]
  • Jefferson Theatre in business.^[10]
• 1930
  • "32-foot channel" dug for ships.^[1]
  • Beaumont Little Theater built.^[1]
  • Population: 57,732.^[6]
• 1932 – Jefferson County Courthouse built.^[1]
• 1936 – Beauxart Gardens housing for urban poor created near Beaumont (approximate date).
• 1943 – June: Beaumont race riot of 1943.^[13]
• 1943–1944 – Beaumont served as a stand-in for Paris, France for Royal Air Force airmen cadets flying on frequent training missions from their base in Terrell, Texas.^[14]
• 1950 – Population: 94,014.^[6]
• 1955 – KFDM-TV (television) begins broadcasting.^[15]
• 1961 – KBMT-TV (television) begins broadcasting.^[15]
• 1966 – Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont established.^[16]
• 1967 – Beaumont Heritage Society formed.^[17][2]
• 1983 – McFaddin–Ward House museum established.^[17]
• 1987 – Texas Energy Museum established.^[17]
• 1991 – Southeast Texas Food Bank established.^[18]
• 1998 – City website online (approximate date).^[19][20]

21st century

• 2007 – Becky Ames becomes mayor.^[21]
• 2010 – Population: city 118,296;^[22] megaregion 19,728,244.^[23]
• 2013 – Randy Weber becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 14th congressional district.^[24]

See also

• Beaumont history
• List of mayors of Beaumont, Texas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Texas
• Timelines of other cities in the Southeast Texas area of Texas: Austin, Houston, Pasadena

References

1. Federal Writers' Project 1940.
2. "Beaumont Heritage Society". Retrieved April 12, 2017.
3. "Texas Historic Sites Atlas". Austin: Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
4. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
5. Condensed History of the Beaumont Fire Department (PDF), City of Beaumont, retrieved April 12, 2017
6. "City Population History from 1850–2000: Beaumont", Texas Almanac, Texas State Historical Association
7. "Texas: Southeast Texas". Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities. Jackson, Mississippi: Goldring / Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
8. Tyrrell Historical Library. "Tyrrell Digital Archive". City of Beaumont. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
9. Bruce A. Glasrud; James Smallwood, eds. (2007). African American Experience in Texas: An Anthology. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press. ISBN 978-0-89672-609-3.
10. "Movie Theaters in Beaumont, TX". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
11. Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States: Texas", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC 2459636
12. Kleiner, Diana J. (1 September 1995). "Gulf States Utilities Company". Texas State Historical Association.
13. Paul E. Isaac. "Beaumont, TX". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
14. AT6 Monument
15. "United States TV Stations: Texas", Yearbook of Radio and Television, New York: Radio Television Daily, 1964, OCLC 7469377 – via Internet Archive
16. "Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: USA". Norway: Roman Catholic Diocese of Oslo. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
17. American Association for State and Local History (2002). "Texas". Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada (15th ed.). Rowman Altamira. ISBN 0759100020.
18. "Southeast Texas Food Bank celebrates 25 years of service", Beaumont Enterprise, September 7, 2016
19. "City of Beaumont, TX". Archived from the original on January 12, 1998 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
20. Kevin Hyde; Tamie Hyde (eds.). "United States of America: Texas". Official City Sites. Utah. OCLC 40169021. Archived from the original on August 24, 2000.
21. "City Council". City of Beaumont, Texas. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
22. "Beaumont city, Texas". QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
23. "Megaregions: Texas Triangle". America 2050. USA: Regional Plan Association. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
24. "Texas". Official Congressional Directory. 1991/1992- : S. Pub. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 2014. hdl:2027/msu.31293033541552 – via HathiTrust.

Bibliography

• "Beaumont". Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory. St. Louis: R.L. Polk & Co. 1884.
• "Beaumont". Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory. Detroit: R.L. Polk & Co. 1890.
• Ellis A. Davis; Edwin H. Grobe, eds. (1926). "(Beaumont)". New Encyclopedia of Texas. Dallas: Texas Development Bureau. pp. 63–66. circa 1926?
• Federal Writers' Project (1939). Beaumont: A Guide to the City and Its Environs. American Guide Series. OCLC 1386509.
• Federal Writers' Project (1940), "Beaumont", Texas: A Guide to the Lone Star State, American Guide Series, New York: Hastings House, hdl:2027/mdp.39015002677667 – via HathiTrust
• James Anthony Clark and Michel T. Halbouty (1952). Spindletop. Random HOuse. OCLC 61752539.
• Paul E. Isaac. "Municipal Reform in Beaumont, Texas, 1902–1909." Southwestern Historical Quarterly 78, 1975
• W. T. Block, ed. (1980). Emerald of the Neches: The Chronicles of Beaumont from Reconstruction to Spindletop. Nederland. OCLC 7300003.
• Ory Mazar Nergal, ed. (1980), "Beaumont, TX", Encyclopedia of American Cities, New York: E.P. Dutton, OL 4120668M
• John H. Walker and Gwendolyn Wingate (1981). Beaumont, a Pictorial History. Donning Company. ISBN 089865159X.
• Judith Walker Linsley and Ellen Walker Rienstra (1982). Beaumont: A Chronicle of Promise. Windsor. ISBN 0897810538.
• William T. Faucett (2005). "Shipbuilding in Beaumont during World War II". Texas Gulf Historical and Biographical Record. 41. Texas Gulf Historical Society. ISSN 0563-2897.
• Robert L. Schaadt (2006). "Business of Beaumont Prior to 1880". Texas Gulf Historical and Biographical Record. 42.
• "Banking in Beaumont 1960–2006". Texas Gulf Historical and Biographical Record. 43. November 2007.
• Rob Blain (2014). Early Beaumont. Images of America. Arcadia. ISBN 978-1-4396-4625-0.
• David G. McComb (2015). "Spindletop and Beaumont". The City in Texas: a History. University of Texas Press. pp. 157+. ISBN 978-0-292-76746-1.

External links

External videos
1920s Beaumont by Solomon Sir Jones

• "United States – Texas – Jefferson County – Beaumont". Portal to Texas History. Denton: University of North Texas Libraries. 20 July 2023.
• "Historical Maps of Texas Cities: Beaumont". Perry–Castañeda Library Map Collection. University of Texas at Austin.
• "Beaumont". Texas Archive of the Moving Image. Austin, TX.
• Items related to Beaumont, Texas, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)