Port Arthur, Texas
Port Arthur is a city in
Jefferson County within the
Beaumont-Port Arthur metropolitan area and is situated in
southeast Texas. As of the
2000 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 57,755.
The
Southeast Texas Regional Airport in
Nederland serves
Beaumont and Port Arthur.
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Location of Port Arthur, Texas |
Port Arthur is located on the western bank of
Sabine Lake. The
Rainbow Bridge across the
Neches River connects Port Arthur to
Bridge City. Port Arthur was founded by Arthur Stilwell in the late 19th century. Once the center of the largest oil refinery network in the world, Port Arthur experienced an economic decline under the corrupt administration of Mayor J.P. "Pink" Logan. Pink Logan's regime inspired the "Clean Government" movement, established by Logan's primary adversary, W.C. Welch.
Port Arthur has yet to recover from the effects of Pink Logan's political machine, and the city faces great challenges in the future given the predicted increase in hurricane activity. The Clean Government movement, however, remains in Port Arthur and was one of the first organizations to denounce local and national corrupt politicians.
Port Arthur has produced its fair share of famous individuals, including singing legend Janis Joplin and Dallas Cowboy coach, Jimmy Johnson. Currently, Port Arthur's profile has risen with the emergence of the rap group UGK. Both members of UGK, Bun B and Pimp C, are from Port Arthur and often refer to their hometown in their songs. UGK has capitalized on Port Arthur's reputation as a haven for gang-related turf warfare.
The
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway runs past the city, separated from Sabine Lake by Pleasure Island. The 18.5 mile man-made island was created from
dredged material from 1899 and 1908
Corps of Engineers projects.
Port Arthur is located at (29.884864, -93.939902).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 372.3
km² (143.8
mi²). 214.8 km² (82.9 mi²) of it is land and 157.6 km² (60.8 mi²) of it (42.32%) is water.
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Delta Queen moored in front of City Hall. |
As of the
census of 2000, there were 57,755 people, 21,839 households, and 14,675 families residing in the city. The
population density was 268.9/km² (696.5/mi²). There were 24,713 housing units at an average density of 115.1/km² (298.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 39.01%
White, 43.70%
African American, 0.45%
Native American, 5.89%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander, 8.88% from
other races, and 2.06% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 17.45% of the population.
There were 21,839 households out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.6% were
married couples living together, 19.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.25.
In the city the population had 28.7% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,455, and the median income for a family was $32,143. Males had a median income of $30,915 versus $21,063 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $14,183. About 22.9% of families and 25.2% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 35.2% of those under age 18 and 14.4% of those age 65 or over.
During the night of 23 September 2005 and through early morning of
September 24,
2005, Port Arthur was damaged by the great winds and rain of
Hurricane Rita. The damage was extensive and widespread, including flooding in Port Arthur's Downtown area. The Proctor Street Seawall held throughout the storm.
Port Arthur had the highest recorded winds during
Hurricane Rita's landfall - at 116mph.
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Janis Joplin, singer
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"Babe" Didrikson Zaharias, athlete and Olympic gold medalist
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Amy Acuff, five-time US Outdoors
high jump champion
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Robert Rauschenberg, artist
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Becky Barksdale, musician
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UGK, rap group
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Stephen Jackson basketball player
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Jimmy Johnson, football coach
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G.W. Bailey, Actor
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Jordan Babineaux NFL player
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Jonathan Babineaux NFL player
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Eric Alexander NFL player
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Terry Oubre musician
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Clifford Antone, blues club owner
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Ken Webster, actor, director
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City of Port Arthur, Texas*
Fun365Days.com -- regional tourism web site*
Partnership of Southeast Texas -- regional economic development site*
Mike Aguilar's Going Underground -- local blog site
