Beaumont

Understand

Beaumont was chartered in 1838 just a few years after three businessmen purchased a farming community known as Tevis Bluff and named the newly formed town after one of the men's wives.

From that point, Beaumont charted a course through several epochs, namely from one revolving around rice farming to one devoted to oil extraction with the famous Spindletop oilfield discovery and finally to one centered on shipbuilding as it pertained to World War II needs. This last period was marred to a degree by heightened racial tensions and a race riot.

Beaumont is still a very industrialized city, with even essentially a canal for a river that would normally be the Neches, but it is also somewhat of a cultural nucleus, with plentiful museums and culture venues and the Crockett Entertainment District. It has also been home to a number of celebrities such as The Big Bopper and Babe Zaharias (a famous female athlete). thumb|Entryway to the Crockett Street entertainment district in downtown Beaumont LCCN2014631010