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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.

Geography and History

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.

Demographics

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.

Hurricane Rita

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.

Famous natives of Port Arthur

External links

Jefferson County, Texas | Cities in Texas | Beaumont-Port Arthur metropolitan area

Port Arthur (Texas) | Port Arthur (Teksas) | Port Arthur (Texas)

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Port Arthur, Texas".

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