Lamar University is based in Beaumont. The city's daily newspaper is The Beaumont Enterprise. An alternative weekly newspaper, The Examiner, is published on Fridays.



Gulf States Utilities had its headquarters in Beaumont until its absorption by Entergy Corporation in 1993. GSU's Edison Plaza headquarters is still the tallest building in Beaumont (as of 2005). Since 1907, Beaumont has been home of the South Texas State Fair. In 2004, the venue for the Fair changed to Ford Park, a new, larger facility on the west end of Beaumont.

History

According to an historical marker on Pearl Street, the city of Beaumont was named by Henry Millard for the family of his deceased wife, Mary. Millard came to Texas in 1835 and, along with his business partners, purchased some land between the settlements of Tevis Bluff and Santa Anna. On this property, they founded the city of Beaumont.

Oil was discovered at nearby Spindletop on January 10, 1901. Spindletop became the first major oil field and one of the largest in American history.

Beaumont was a small center for cattle raisers and farmers in its early years, and with an active riverport by the late 1800s, it became an important lumber and rice-milling town. The Beaumont Rice Mill, founded in 1892, was the first commercial rice mill in Texas. Beaumont's lumber boom, which reached its peak in the late 1800s, was due in large part to the rebuilding and expansion of the railroads after the Civil War. By the early 1900s, the city was served by the Southern Pacific, Kansas City Southern, Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe, and Missouri Pacific railroad systems. With the discovery of oil at Spindletop, Beaumont's population grew from 3,296 in 1890 to 9,427 in 1900.

A race riot took place in Beaumont in June 1943 after a white woman said she had been raped by a black man.

In 1996, the Jefferson County courts, located in Beaumont, became the first court in the nation to implement electronic filing and service of court documents, eliminating the need for law firms to print and mail reams of documents.

In 2005, Beaumont and surrounding areas suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Rita. A mandatory evacuation was imposed upon its residents for about two weeks.

Geography

Beaumont is on Texas's coastal plain, about 30 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and just south of the dense pine forests of East Texas. The city is bordered on the east by the Neches River and to the north by Pine Island Bayou. Before being settled, the area was crisscrossed by numerous small streams. Most of these streams have since been filled in or converted for drainage purposes.

Beaumont is located at 30'4'48" North, 94'7'36" West (30.079912, -94.126653)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 222.6 km? (85.9 mi?). 220.2 km? (85.0 mi?) of it is land and 2.4 km? (0.9 mi?) of it is water. The total area is 1.07% water.

Climate

Beaumont has a subtropical climate with mild winters and warm, humid summers. The most recent snow event was December 24, 2004, the first such occurrence since 1989. The area suffered a severe ice storm in 1997.

Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 113,866 people, 44,361 households, and 29,100 families residing in the city. The population density was 517.2/km? (1,339.4/mi?). There were 48,815 housing units at an average density of 221.7/km? (574.2/mi?). The racial makeup of the city was 46.39% White, 45.85% African American, 0.24% Native American, 2.48% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.55% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. 7.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 44,361 households out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 18.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,559, and the median income for a family was $40,825. Males had a median income of $35,861 versus $24,255 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,632. 19.6% of the population and 16.4% of families were below the poverty line. 28.6% of those under the age of 18 and 12.7% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.