History

Beaumont was incorporated as a town in 1838. The increase in economic growth was as a result of the booming of the forest products industry and this lead to rapid population growth. In 1889, three of the largest operating sawmills were locally owned. Despite the war between Beaumont city and the United States in 1861, it still continued to grow.

The lumber industry depended more on the white pine forest of the Northeastern but upon depletion, they resorted to the yellow pine from the South as an alternative and this led to improvements in the transportation industry. Industry growth therefore owed its growth to the availability of the rail transport.

In the 1880s, the lumber industry became an important industry in Texas because of the high returns derived from this industry to the investors and the high wages paid to the employees. It was a source of livelihood to the majority of the population. The rapid economic growth led to the migration of many people to the Beaumont city, construction of wharves and freight houses, boarding schools, hotels and restaurants, schools and churches to serve the increasing population.

The need for the Southern pine and cypress lumber products led to an increased demand for their raw products and anyone capable of logging was send to the forest. The logs were then rafted together and floated down the river to Beaumont (pp. 27). Businesses thrived through the sale of calked boots used by the loggers. A policy to regulate the logging led to registration of 94 log brands by the Jefferson County.

The growing lumber industry in Beaumont lead to the establishment of several lumber yards within the town with rail connections and trains causes a lot of traffic. Despite sawdust being utilized in the ice plants and refrigerator cars and being exported for the same, much was found everywhere in the city.

The ever increasing labor demand made people migrate to town from Texas and Southern states while the skilled came from the Northeast. Others came from New England, Michigan and Canada.

Most of the men who owned these industries were related as most of them had married from the family of Davis L. Long, a sawmill owner and a native of Georgia. (pp. 33). Because of this, they worked collaboratively and stream-boats used in log drivers and towing jobs served all the firms. They also formed trade and shipping organizations together (pp. 34).

The success of the lumber trade benefited the Beaumont city. Some of the benefits include the participation in the national and the world trade. In the late 1880s, forest products were valued more than a million dollars.
In 1884, bricks began replacing wood with the construction of a Baptist Church of Beaumont in 1887. Other developments included the establishment of ice factories and telephone lines. Railway transport was also expanded with Gulf, Beaumont, and Kansas City railways from Beaumont into timber yards in Hardin and Jasper Counties in 1894 to help carry logs (pp. 39). Forest products industries and transport related industries emerged. An example is the Beaumont Iron Works that build and repaired the sawmill machinery and railroad cars. Others are the furniture and brick factories and the shipping yards.