Port Arthur Sites

"The growth of the petrochemical industry in the southern part of Jefferson County in the early 1930s resulted in the need for extended county government services. State legislation was required in order to enable the county to build a "subcourthouse" in Port Arthur. Introduced in the Legislature by local elected officials, a bill was passed on April 30, 1931, and plans were made to build a new south county office facility to serve this part of the county. Funded as a project of the Federal Public Works Administration (PWA), construction of the building began on August 10, 1935, and was...

"This bridge across the Neches River, connecting Orange with Port Arthur, has a total length with approaches of approximately 7,750 feet. The main span is 680 feet from pier to pier and the clearance of the bottom chord at mean low water is 177 feet. It provides two traffic lanes and two sidewalks and has cut the distance from Orange to Port Arthur from 44 to 24 miles. It was completed in August 1939 at an estimated construction cost of $2,473,083 and a project cost of $2,713,294."