BEAUMONT, Texas, city and county-seat of Jefferson County, situated on the west bank of the Neches River, on the Southern Pacific, Sabine, and East Texas, Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe, Gulf and Interstate, Kansas City Southern and Beaumont, Sour Lake and West ern railroads, 80 miles northeast of Houston and 22 miles distant from the Gulf of Mexico. Beaumont is an important shipping point, is at the head of tidewater navigation and has a number of important industries, among which are oil refineries, rice mills, stove and iron works and lumber. Oil was discovered in the Beaumont fields in 1901, when there was opened up a series of gushers, the most remarkable in the history of the oil industry. That oil was there had long been Imown and several men had lost fortunes trying to get at but it was not until the wells were sunk on Spindle Top that success came. The structure of Spindle Top appears to be that of a dome with steep sides and rather fiat summit. The equip ment of the refineries, the pipe lines and trans portation and storage facilities for this industry alone represent an investment of over $45,000, 000. The lumber industry has assumed great proportions, the city being the natural head quarters for this business, and the annual out put now exceeds 360,000,000 feet of yellow pine. The cultivation of rice was begun some years ago; the belt extending along the coast of Louisiana and Texas produces more rice than is consumed in this country, and the largest rice mill in Texas is located at Beaumont. Among
the most notable public buildings are the new Federal courthouse and post-office, costing over $200,000, the Jefferson County courthouse, city hall, Y. M. C. A. building and the Sisters' Hospital. Religious services are held in churches representing nearly all denominations. A theatre has been erected at a cost of about $100,000. There are four banks, with a com bined capital of $600,000 and doing an annual business of $25,000,000. For the public educa tion there are a fine new high school with manual training department and several ward schools. Bell Austin Institute is located there. About 20 miles of street are paved with brick and shell; a complete sewerage system has been installed; a new waterworks system has been completed at a cost of over $300,000; and there are well-appointed fire and police departments. Beaumont was first settled in 1836, being plot ted by John Grisby, Joseph Pulsifer, Henry Millard and Thomas B. Huling. It was incor porated under the general law in 1::1 and granted a special charter in 1889, the affairs of the community now being administered by a mayor and council of six members, elected bi ennially. About 80 per cent of the population are white, the remainder negroes. Pop. 20,640.