The first documented contact with the tribe was by French sailor Simars de Bellisle in 1719. Bellisle and four others were abandoned and deBellisle, after the death of his companions, was made a captain of the Indian tribe for some time. Later contact with the Attakapa included trade with French and Spanish explorers. The tribe was evidently a loose confederacy of small, scattered bands. Archaeological evidence suggests that they subsisted mainly on small game, fish and wild plants and were not farmers. The tribe disappeared from Texas in the early 19th century, either becoming extinct or integrating into other tribes. There were brief periods when the Choctaws, Alabama-Coushatta, Biloxi and Cherokee Indians stopped temporarily to set up camps after the American Revolution.
Legend has it that Jean Lafitte traveled up and down Cow Bayou and may have buried treasure along its banks. By 1748, Joaquin Orobia Y. Basterra had explored the county for the Spanish crown.
The coastal area that includes Orange County was highly contested during the colonization period. Alonso Alvarez de Pineda, under the Spanish flag, came to the area in 1519 to map the coastline. He named the Sabine River (San Francisco de Sabenas) after the cypress trees he found. Louis Juchereau de St. Denis founded the French colony, Natchitoches in 1713. to address incursions the Spanish established a number of missions through out the region. By 1718 numerous French traders had crossed the Sabine and were freely operating. Relations were generally peaceful, and France ceded the area to Span in 1763 at the Treaty of Paris. Louisiana returned to Napoleon in 1800, and he promptly resold it to the United States in 1803. Border disputes between Spain and the United States continued until the Adams-Onis Treaty was signed in 1819, fixing the western border of the United States at the mouth of the Sabine River. Seeking to populate the area, the newly established Republic of Mexico offered generous land grants, and Anglo settlement of the area began to in earnest.
Joseph Vehlein obtained colonization rights in 1826 for territory between the twenty-ninth and thirty-third parallels. The rights were transferred to the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company between 1834 and 1835. The United States government mapped and attempted to remove snags and debris along Sabine Lake and the Sabine River in 1837. The first steamboat to navigate the Sabine River, the Velocipede, arrived shortly thereafter.
Prairie View was settled before Texas became a Republic. During Republic of Texas days, Orange County was non-existent because the area was included in Jefferson County (1836-1846). Now a ghost town, the settlement known as “Cow Bayou” was 10 miles west of Orange and was established in 1868-1872. It was the principle community between Louisiana and the town of Liberty.
Before the Mexican War in the mid 1830s, the settlers were livestock tenders and raised cotton on the riverbanks. They also raised corn and sugar cane. Most of the area was prairie and timberland that was cress-crossed with many streams and bayous.
Many families came across the Sabine River and stopped to settle in this new frontier. They became independent pioneers not belonging to groups under the colonization contracts from the Mexican Government. Following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, a narrow strip of land to the east of the Neches River was neutral ground. Beginning in 1837 until 1845, when Texas was annexed to the United States, there were many who thought the Neches River was the eastern boundary of Texas. Andrew Jackson, while president, was one who thought that way. Therefore the area between the Neches and Sabine Rivers became a “no-man’s land” until annexation resolved the eastern boundary of Texas. The area was used by out-laws to hide out. Those trying to stay ahead of the Mexican Army stopped to wait for an all-clear signal and stayed. Soon after Mexico won her independence from Span in 1821, Anglo-Americans began settling in the big woods of present day Orange County.
In the mid 1820’s the population was mostly white. The first inhabitants came from the neighboring states of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia. A large number of Acadians were among the settlers. They were from Acadia, a French colony in Nova Scotia. During the Queen Anne War from 1702 to 1713, Port Royal, the capital of Acadia, surrendered to the English. In the treaty that followed, Acadia was given to England. The native French-Canadians proved to be a source of trouble to the English because of their sympathy for the French and Indians. In 1755, during the French and Indian Wars, a large number of these people were deported to the so-called Southern Colonies of the United States, mostly to Louisiana then Texas.
Because of the many Americans illegally entering the Mexican colony, Mexico established a colonization policy from 1820-1821. Essentially their only requirement was that settlers pledge their faith to the Catholic Church. They were entitled to a large grant of land if they fulfilled their requirements. Most of the early American arrivals to the area were at least nominally Protestant. According to a state census on 1887, Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian and Catholic were all represented.
An impresario or land dealer system was organized. Lorenza deZavalla was in charge of all of east Texas and Orange County. Beginning in 1824 Colonists applied to him for a league and labor of land when original grants were issued. At this time the first permanent settlers came into Orange County mostly from Louisiana.
When Texas rebelled against Mexico and won its independence, Claiborne West, who was a storeowner on Cow Bayou, and Henry Millard, a Beaumont citizen, petitioned the temporary Congress in November 1835 to form the Jefferson municipality. The seat of government was located at the municipality of Jefferson, which was a settlement of houses along Cow Bayou. By 1845, all signs of this village were gone and county business was conducted at a post office and home at Patillo Station on Cow Bayou. Cow Bayou begins in Jasper County and runs south-southeast for thirty miles to its mouth on the Sabine River at Bridge City (at 30 degree1’N, 93 degree 45’W).
In 1852 the Texas Legislature from a portion of Jefferson County formed Orange County. Madison became the county seat on February 5, 1852. When the town incorporated in 1858, the name was changed to Orange and has remained unchanged since that date. George A. Patillo chose the name, the first county judge, who owned an orange grove near the east bank of the Neches River.
Jefferson, known variously as East Jefferson or Lower Town of Jefferson, was on Cow Bayou in a part of Jefferson County that later became southeastern Orange County. This settlement was the first seat of government for Jefferson County and in 1837 had some twenty houses and scattered farms. The next year, however, Beaumont became the Jefferson County seat. Subsequently Jefferson rapidly declined, though in 1845 Benjamin P. Gates filed a town plat for Jefferson, to be located on the northwestern bank of the Sabine River and in 1850 he filed for a “new and lower survey”. There is still some debate regarding the precise location of the town site; some observers place it at or near the site of what is now Bridge City and others closer to what is now Orange.
According to a June, 1897 general land office map some of the largest land owners at the time along Cow Bayou included William Jett, William Dyson (1835) Claibourne West (1835), George Patillo (1835) and Mary Latham. Others listed on the map include H. F. Brack, C. Stevens, Catron School, Tom Bowles, James Dyson, Sarah M. Luce, John H. Forsyth, Samuel David, William Davis, Wm. A. Hatton, J. Turner, and Talley School. The map list a Dumar or Dumur Landing and bridge near present day E. Roundbunch and a bridge over Cow Bayou at present day FM 105. Mary Dulvin owned the land at the end of Lake Street on Old River Cove. The peninsula bordered by Old River Cove and The Neches River was owned by W. A. Atkins called Old River Peninsula. The island across was called Boons Island, later Stewts Island. A Shell Island was below Prairie View near Hickory Cover, West Pass, East Pass and Blacks Bayou. The last parcel of land where Cow Bayou meets the present day Intracoastal Canal was owned by Henry Walters adjacent to Comfort Landing.
In 1908, Japan native Kichimatsu Kishi quit his job as a supervisor in a Tokyo pipe factory to come to America and established a Japanese rice plantation and agricultural colony in Orange County near Prairie View. He was a war hero in the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905, who traveled through the United States looking for a place to start a farm. He picked Orange County and started a busy agricultural colony. Kishi family were the first Japanese settlers in Southeast Texas and were heavily involved in the community. The colony started to suffer during the great depression and Kishi was even called before a panel of FBI and intelligence officers shortly before World War II. He was released without restrictions. The Japanese were tenant farmers who settled on FM 1135. Despite their eventual American citizenship and adoption of many Western customs, they managed to maintain the traditions of their homeland. Later, workers of Mexican and French Louisiana descents joined the settlement.
The colony outlasted severe drops in rice prices and flooding from the salt-water ship channel. But during the Depression in 1931, mortgages on the land were foreclosed and the colony broke up. Most of the 41 settlers moved to other areas. Kichimatsu Kishi was one of the first oil drillers, founding Orange Petroleum Company, in the county and benefited from the Orangefield drilling boom in the 1920s. The oil brought more people and that made a community school necessary. Kishi also was the first person in the area to increase rice productivity through contour irrigation of the fields. When the rice fields flooded with salt water, he grew cabbage on 200 acres of high ground.
Today there is little evidence of Kishi’s dream except for an Orange Historical Society marker at the old home site near the intersection of FM 1135 and Jap Lane. A small cemetery is nearby and was started in 1910 for the burial of a young colonist, T. Toba and Kishi and seventeen other Japanese members of the colony are buried. The end of the settlement came as a result of the economic depression of the 1930s. One of their sons, Taro Kishi, died July 24, 1993 at the age of 90. He lived in Vidor.
All the initial settlements of Orange County were Anglo-Saxon and Acadian. Throughout the years, a more balanced population developed. The ethnic structure is now a mixture of whites consisting of English, Irish, Scottish, Italian, German and Jewish inhabitants. There are also Blacks, Mexicans, Orientals and a very small percentage of Indians, none of who are native to Orange County.
The discovery of oil by the Rio Bravo Oil Co. on the Josh Bland lease in 1913 and the Oscar Chesson well in 1922 ushered in a new era and a new economy in the Orangefield area. The county grew to a record population high of 15,379 in 1920. The boom began and oil well drilling hit a peak. That year thirty-two manufacturers processed and refined oil in the county for a product total of $17,154.779, compared with the 1900 value of $1,762.161. About that time, Orangefield had two theaters and two hotels along with several dry goods, drug and grocery stores. Many board roads we built because they could be put down faster over marshy areas and to new field locations.
In 1954, Paul Cormier, independent oil operator in Orangefield, made his first venture in oil drilling. By 1956 Orangefield had a new position office since the first one in 1921. Orangefield was one of the hardest hit area in Orange County when Hurricane Audrey struck on June 27, 1957. Derricks and trees tumbled down, no one was injured or killed. By November 12, 1965 a new bridge was built over Cow Bayou on FM 105 to replace the old narrow bridge. It cost the county $6,445,000, a joint project of the county and the state.
In an early 1900s’ topographical map of Prairie View (Bridge City) shows six “Barr” pits on Bridgeview near Meadowlawn Streets. The green pits were used for oil storage from the abundance of oil in the Orangefield area. They had wood cypress roofs. By the 1930s they were abandoned and no oil remained. Salt water was pumped into the levee small ponds. Two blue pits were located on LaPointe Street just north of the green pits. By 1934 local boys caught bait and fished and swam in the pits.
In 1916 the Sabine-Neches Waterway was dredged through Sabine Lake past Sabine Pass to the Gulf of Mexico, and the Port of Orange attained deep-water operations and invited the further expansion of oil operations and chemical industries.
The Great Depression marked a very difficult period for Orange County. The population remained relatively stable (15,149 in 1930 to 17,382 in 1940), but industrial establishments decline to twenty-five by 1930 and employed only 938 workers. By 1940 the figure had fallen further to sixteen manufacturers and 527 employees. World War II and its defense needs led Orange County to a recovery. Shipbuilding, long a local staple, but declining since 1918, reached new heights. The population more than doubled to a record 40,567 in 1950. DuPont moved to Orange in 1944 followed by Allied, Spencer, Firestone and Goodrich-Gulf, among other chemical and petrochemical manufacturers. Farming and ranching played a diminishing role in the county’s economy.
Orange County comprises 362 square miles of two ecological zones; the Gulf prairies and marshes in the southeastern half of the county and the Piney Woods in northwest half of the county. The terrain is generally level and low, with elevations ranging from sea level to thirty feet, and is surfaced by loam over clay sub soils. Both the Sabine and Neches rivers drain to Sabine Lake, which feeds into the Gulf of Mexico through the Sabine Pass. Sabine Lake, the largest lake in the region, is thirty miles long and twenty miles wide. There are seven additional streams in the county.
The coastal region has many fish eating and migratory birds, including the while pelican, heron, egret, wood stork, white ibis and sand hill crane. Shorebirds include gulls and terns, upland plover, sandpiper, snipe and woodcock. Inland a variety of birds include the pheasant, quail, turkey, sand hill crane, duck, geese, woodcock and jacksnipe. Larger game in the area include squirrel, opossum, muskrat, beaver, otter, mink, ring tailed cat, badger, raccoon, skunk, civet cat, nutria, coyote, fox, deer and bobcat. Reptiles and amphibians include toads and frogs, American alligator, turtle, diamond backed terrapin, black striped snake, speckles racer, Texas cay-eyed snake, Louisiana Pine snake and the smoother green snake.
The Monarch butterfly can be seen in the fall during the last days of September and by the third week in October most have passed through on their way to Mexico. Because Texas is situated between the principal breeding grounds in the north and the over wintering area in Mexico, our state perhaps is the most important state in their migration. Monarchs funnel through Texas both in fall and spring. During the fall they use two principal flyways. One flyway, which traverses the center of Texas, is about 200 miles wide and centered on a line that stretched from Wichita Falls to Eagle Pass. Monarchs enter the Texas portion of this flyway and can be seen landing near Bailey’s Fish Camp in mass before their long journey across the Gulf of Mexico. The second flyway is along the coast where monarchs fly, roughly from the third week of October well into November. The monarch that uses these flyways are fewer in number than those that use the central flyway.
The Piney Woods are characterized by pine and hardwood forest. Grassland areas as well as crops are found in concentrations. The Gulf prairies and marshes have similar grassland and crop areas concentrations, but the forest of bald cypress and water tupelo swamplands contrast markedly.
The climate in Orange County is subtropical humid with the highest annual rainfall in the state. The annual precipitation average is fifty-six inches, and the average humidity if 89 percent and 6:00 a.m. and 69 percent at 6:00 p.m. The annual average temperature is 68 degrees with average temperatures ranging in January from a low of 42 degrees to a high of 61 degrees and in July from 74 degrees to 91 degrees. The growing season averages 240 days per year, with the last freeze in mid March and the first freeze in November. The area’s plentiful supply of lumber encouraged the growth of early industries involved with shipbuilding, paper manufacture and wooden products. More recently, oil and gas production and refining have become the major source of economic growth and development. Salt domes, sand and gravel (in Deweyville) are other natural recourses of economic importance to the region.
In 1859 Samuel H. Levingston started a shipyard in Orange, employing six men and paying a monthly salary of $588, which must have provided pricey wages to his employees. During World War I, both Orange and Beaumont produced many ships. In Orange, International Shipbuilding Company built nine sailing vessels and completed two more begun in Beaumont. Each of those vessels took over a million board feet of lumber to produce.
Weaver & Sons Ship Yard built three 700-ton steamships and a four mast schooner, the Elmer Roberts. By January 1918 there were at least five active shipyards in Orange: International Shipbuilding Company, Orange Maritime Corporation, National Shipbuilding Company, Southern Dry-dock and Shipbuilding Company and Weaver and Sons. The war ended sooner than most people had anticipated, although the government cancelled many contracts, there was a tremendous waste of ships. The bottom totally dropped out of the business and some firms, such as International, Orange Maritime and National Shipbuilding failed. In many place ships were simple allowed to deteriorate or were burned for scrap metal.
Shipyards were reluctant to change from wood to steel. Not only did they have an abundant nearby source of wood, but also the qu9pment and tools to work in steel were expensive. Not only did steel have to be cut by huge shears, which were in themselves costly, but they also necessitated a sturdy and expensive foundation. Only when oxyacetylene torches to cut steel were developed did the Orange shipyards switch to steel construction.
Levingston Shipbuilding Company, incorporated in Orange in 1933, made barges for oil exploration in the marshes along the Gulf Coast. Although a few were wood, almost all were steel. They built a total of 157 vessels, steel tugboats, oil barges, deck cargo barges and small tankers for the armed forces. Weaver Shipyards built twenty-six 136-foot wooden minesweepers and two 100-foot submarine chasers.
The need for employees to construct war materials was great, but many men had gone to war, necessitating the war plants to hire women. Workers streamed into from Beaumont, Prairie View, Orange and all parts of Texas and Louisiana causing extreme housing shortages. Some lived in trailers on vacant lots or in tents with dirt floors.
In 1901, the Cow Bayou Canal Company had a long canal dug and built a pumping plant. The plant was to irrigating rice. Many hundreds of acres of rice were raised over a period of 10-12 years. A large warehouse was built on Cow Bayou near the pumping plant for rice to be stored after it had been harvested, threshed, sacked and hauled on wagons where it was sold and shipped by barges to rice mills to be cleaned and the husk removed. The bayou, which is intermittent in its upper reaches, was long an important avenue of transportation and saw extensive barge traffic by 1911.
After the channel was built it caused the water to become salty and stopped rice farming and many people left the area. It was only when war broke out in 1941 that people began to come back to work in the shipyards in the area.
In 1963 Congress approved a measure to improve the bayou by constructing a channel 100 feet wide and thirteen feet deep for 7.7 miles from its mouth to Orangefield, where a large (300’x500’x13’) turning basin was projected. However, a number of oil wells at Orangefield blocked the right-of-way, and only the first seven miles of channel was dredged. In 1967 planners deemed the channel adequate for navigation and flood control, even without the turning basin. At that time four industrial concerns operated terminal and transfer facilities on Cow Bayou. Two fishing camps and a number of boat ramps and wharves were also present. Early Settlers
Some families living in the area since the 1830s include the families of John and Oliver Bland, John C. Turner, (grandfather to Lillie Warren and Roy M. Hatton) and his four sons, Ben C., George, Jack and Jep Turner. Others were brothers Bill and William (Bob) Hatton, Samuel Burgess, born January 1854, R. C. (Bob) Gravett, born August, 1837. Gravett was also called Judge Gravett since he served as justice of the peace. Others were Robert Walker, Larkin Thomas and Tom and George Foreman. Also Robert L. Kibbe, Sr., W.F. Rachal, brothers Frank and George Washington Harvey, Samuel Augustine (Gus) Smith, A.G. Stewart and Orrien Myers.
In the early 1900s, the main occupation in the area was ranch farming and cattle raising. Farmers raised their own meat, which included sheep, goats, hogs, and poultry. They also raised horses used to work the fields. Fruit, cotton, vegetables, and sugar cane were also grown. There was a large sugar cane farm near Bland and Rachal Street that covered an area all the way to Cow Bayou. Ben C. Turner, Mose Hatton and John Bland grew sugar cane and operated a sugar mill. Some settlers hunted alligators and muskrat.
In the 1890s during the fall of the year cane was cut, stacked on wagons drawn by oxen or horses and brought to the mill to be ground and made into syrup. Part of the cane was made into brown sugar for preserving fruit. Living close to the rivers and bayous enabled early settlers to also enjoy seafood. Work was available on the Lakeview Farm owned in part by Henry Bland and Monroe Coleman.
At the turn of the century John Bland and Bob Gravett bought 2,800 acres of land. When they decided to divide the property, they did so with a dirt road called Roundbunch. Gravett took the property on the north side and Bland took the property on the south side. It is said when they laid out the dividing road, they did so on horseback.
A little know tale of the reason Hoo Hoo Road is named began with stories told by Jesse McGuire and Sam and Ed Johnson families who lived off Highway 62. According to long time resident Bobbie McGuire no one could ever give a good explanation for the name. “Jesse, Sam and Ed would laugh and tell people they lived on Hoo Hoo Road. It was just three old men acting like fools to make people laugh and it stuck”. Over the years people just began to assume the name had something to do with owls, but it was doubted that owls were involved in the old farmers’ little inside joke.
Thomas
In 1830 the Larkin R. Thomas family settled in the Bessie Heights area where he staked a claim. He was originally from Norfolk County, Virginia. He became Orange County’s second sheriff. His descendants lived here until his great-grandson, John Oren Thomas, died in 1988. John Oren Thomas, born in 1910, was the son of Durwood and Emma Thomas. All four generations are buried in a family cemetery south of FM 1442 near Turner Road. Oren Thomas recalled how Bessie Heights got its name. The first person that drilled for oil in the Bessie Heights area was Pat O’Burns. O’Burns had a niece named Bessie and hence the name. O’Burns did not strike oil, but he was not far from a strike. In 1929 the Texas Company brought in the first successful well in the Bessie Heights marsh.
In 1838 the Larkin Thomas family ran a tannery that included 22 tanning vats valued at $12.50 each, according to an appraisal conducted in 1838. He also had a stockpile of tanning bark, 89 large hides and 52 skins.
On April 20,1839 Larkin Thomas took an oath of allegiance to the Republic of Texas. He swore to uphold and obey all laws of the Republic of Texas and to formally renounce his allegiance to the United States. Texas was an independent republic from 1836 until it joined the Unites States in 1845.
Larkin Thomas contracted with the United States government as early as 1850 to carry mail by horseback from Ballew’s Ferry (about where West Bluff is now) to Beaumont. His schedule was to leave Beaumont every Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and arrive the next day at Ballew’s Ferry at 5:00 p.m. He then traveled back to Beaumont by 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.
Copies of deeds dated in the 1850s described some of Larkin Thomas’ slave transactions. The Thomas home place was sold to AMCO Co. in 1953 but the company allowed Oren and his mother to live on the property throughout their lifetime. Oren Thomas’ mother died in 1970 and Oren died November 28,1988. He had retired from the Orange County Drainage District in 1985.
Gravett - Turner
Ben E. Gravett, born 1871 married Mary Laura Burgess. ?????????
John O. Turner was born January, 1814 in South Carolina. In 1850 after moving to Texas, he and his spouse, Amanda Stephenson, settled near where the Gulf States Utilities Plant now stands. They later moved to the Duncan Woods settlement. Their oldest son was seven when they moved. Duncan Woods was a section of land about three miles northwest of Prairie View and stretched all the way to the Neches River. The Turners had three daughters and four sons.
In the 1880s, the Ben C. Turner family of fourteen lived about 1/2 mile north of the present First Baptist Church. In 1887 they are said to have gathered acorns from Hackberry, Louisiana and planted on their property. All live oak trees in the community are believed to be products of those original acorns. They gave away small oak saplings to area residents. Their daughter, Lillie, was born December 27, 1880 and later married John R. Warren. The Turners had 12 children. They lived about ½ mile north of the present location of First Baptist Church on W. Roundbunch. They were farmers, raised cattle, made saddles, tanned leather and made their own syrup. After 1901 when irrigation canals were dug, they raised rice.
In the 1880s John Turner owned a gristmill where farmers ground their corn into meal with the coarser portion used for grits. Oliver Bland owned the first cotton gin in the area.
Harvey
In 1880, George Washington Harvey bought 333 acres at what was considered then to be an inflated price of $1.50 per acre. Today the land has been subdivided and is called Harvey Addition, next to Dugas Addition. Brown Farm Public Road and Roundbunch Road crossed the section of land. Before moving from Orange, he owned the James S. Harvey and Sons Freight Line. In 1892 his daughter Ruby was born. The family raised cattle and rice. Harvey fenced his grazing land but most people let their cattle roam. They also grew produce for the family and had a peach orchard that produced from May through October. He did not raise cotton as some landowners did because he felt there was not enough money for the effort. The community was mostly prairie land. The area had an orange grove and grapefruit trees and an abundance of open spaces.
The first telephone was brought in by the rice farmers and was located at the pumping station on the rice canal near the Harvey Addition. James S. Harvey paid $15 for the privilege of using the phone. Local men bought poles for the telephone lines and installed them. By the late 1930s phone service was by way of a multiple “party line."
According to Ruby Young, who was born December 5, 1892, Roundbunch Road was named for a grove of post oak or sassafras trees near the Harms Place on East Roundbunch. The trees formed a circle. These trees were not native to the area. The story was told that Indians planted the trees, ran their lariats between them and herded wild ponies into the enclosure. They held their ponies and cows there before crossing Cow Bayou to a dipping plant on the other side. Harvey Street and Young Street are named for Harvey and Young families.
Ruby married William Young in 1910 and had eight children. They lived in Beaumont until 1928 then returned to the area. East Young Drive is named after her. The Young children include Wilma, Marion, Charles R., William Jr., Jack, Katherine, Susan and Mary.
Bland - Kibbe
Robert Louis Kibbe, Sr. was born in 1888 and in 1900 moved from Abbeville, Louisiana to Prairie View. In 1915 he later Fara Bland (who was born in September 1892 in Prairie View) . She had inherited 366 acres of land, thus was a substantial landowner. Her father was John C. Bland ??? who owned 5,000 acres in the area. ????????
In 1901 a rice irrigation canal was dug by W. B. Chambers and his two sons-in-law from northern United States. They had bought a large tract of land from Judge Gravett and started commercial rice farming. The canal was important to Kibbe because he became a rice farmer. His first crop was planted in 1915 at the end of Meadowlawn Drive.
Kibbe’s property was south of Roundbunch Road and was bisected by Highway 87. The first Kibbe home was near the intersection of Texas Avenue and Ferry Drive. In 1915 they built a home at 1190 Texas Avenue, one of only eight homes in the area at that time. The families were Bland, two families of Hattons, Turner, Gravett, Harvey and St. Germaine.
The Kibbes had two sons, Robert Louis, Jr., born February 27, 1923 and John Charles. John Kibbe still lives at the original homestead that was built in 1915 (as of 2002). It is said to be the oldest home in the community. At the time Robert Jr. was born there were only six families in the area; Bland, two families of Hattons, Turner, Gravette, Harvey and St. Germaine.
In 1901 the Cow Bayou Canal Company dug a long canal and built a pumping plant on Cow Bayou near Clark’s Ranch (East Roundbunch) for irrigating the hundreds of acres of rice fields near by. A large warehouse was built on Cow Bayou near the pumping plant to store rice after it was harvested, threshed and sacked. It was hauled on horse drawn wagons to the warehouse for storage until it was sold. The rice was shipped by barge to rice mills to be cleaned and have the husk removed.
Less rice was grown for a number of years then finally abandoned in the community. The irrigation canal water had become salty. Kibbe quit farming in 1920 when the canal had become contaminated with salt water and could not be used for rice irrigation. He rented his property and moved to Jefferson County to work for the Pure Oil Company. Four years later, a canal was opened above Orangefield that provided fresh water again for the Prairie View area and Kibbe returned to rice farming. Some of the settlers had left the area. It was only when war broke out in the 1940s that people began to return to work in shipyards in the area.
Kibbe sold the majority of his property and then farmed land leased from the Browns of Orange. He also raised cattle. He retired at 72 years of age.
Parker
C.G. Parker moved his family to the “prairie” in 1935 from Port Arthur where he bought and remodeled an 80-year old house, one of the community’s first. The home was built in 1874 by Columbus Thomas and later sold to George Turner, then resold. Parker bought it from W.H. Stark in 1929 and later moved into it. Parker, a pioneer real estate man in the Sabine area, became interested in the community years before he moved. In 1919 he and H.F. Banker of Port Arthur had obtained their first option to buy 400 acres and divided it into home sites. But it was during WWII that Banker began constructing homes on the lots and that marked the visible beginning of the development of the town.
About that time a bond issue to build a bridge between Port Arthur and Prairie View was defeated, but this foresighted real estate man knew such a bridge would soon become a necessity. He bought property on Forest and Shady Drives. He took a leading part in campaigning for the bridge to replace the Dryden Ferry. At this time Port Arthurians en route to Orange or onto Louisiana sometimes had to wait as long as four or five hours for their turn on the ferry and then go around through Orangefield or the old Roundbunch Road.
After the bridge was finally completed in 1938, Parker watched school enrollment climb to over 600 pupils. He was a charter member of First Baptist Church and was the church clerk. Parker worked with the Bridge City Lions Club to create a water and sewer district for the community.
LaPointe
Joe and Rosa Ducote LaPointe were originally from Jennings, Louisiana. The came to Prairie View and were highland farmers raising corn, rice and cotton on 39 acres on LaPointe Street at the corner of W. Roundbunch. Joe LaPointe also worked for Orange County Road department. They had a son, Stanford LaPointe. Joe died in 1959.
Earnest
E.T. Earnest and his spouse Mary lived on Silver Lake on the corner of S. John and Texas Avenue. The six-acre natural lake was originally owned by the pioneer Kibbe family and sold to Earnest sometime between 1935 and 1936. They were originally from Chicago, Illinois and came to Prairie View when Earnest was transferred by the Texas Company where he was employed. Their first home was moved from the Texas Avenue location in the 1960s to Piccadilly Street.
The Silver Lake is 2-3 feet deep in most places, gets about 8 feet in some places and has two islands. The prairie type land around the original home site was used for a peanut farm at one time and an egg hatchery. A windmill was built and used to draw water from the ground and stored in a cistern. The cistern tower was later enclosed and today looks somewhat like a house for a Dutch windmill. There are three floors in the building with the bottom floor used for a washroom.
Earnest developed flow instrumentation for Texaco, which earned him patents. He was a member of Bridge City’s first city council in the early 1970s. Mary Earnest was first cousin to Charles Carroll, known as Andy, of the Amos and Andy radio show fame in the 1940s. Andy visited his cousin on many occasions. Earnest died in December 1979. His spouse preceded him in death. They had no children.
Hatton
The Hatton families settled near the present Gulf States Utilities because of the abundance of artesian wells for fresh water. The Hatton Water Well was 704 feet deep and was drilled in 1905 for irrigating rice fields and livestock use. The deep well was sold in 1915 to Texas Company and water was piped across the Neches River to the Port Arthur refinery for cooling purposes. A second well was dug in 1932.
On June 15,1893 Roy Moses Hatton was born. His father was John Moses
Hatton and his mother was the former Abigail Turner. Roy’s two brothers were Frank and Edgar and two sisters, Ethel and Ophelia. Ophelia was born in 1895. On December 1,1897 his mother died. John Moses Hatton then hired housekeeper and nurse, Amanda Singleton, to tend to his motherless children. She became his spouse but died four years later. The couple had two sons, Clyde and Truett.
Again John Moses Hatton hired a housekeeper and nurse, Sarah Jan Colburn of Orange. She eventually married Hatton. She had six children, Naomi, Ruby, Hazel, Joe, Helen, and Alvin, making thirteen children in the Hatton household.
Hatton was a farmer and rancher who raised pigs, rice and sugar cane and did highland farming. He owned a sugar mill.
In 1899 young Roy Moses Hatton had begun his educational lessons at Prairie View School. He quit in the eighth grade to help around the house. A year later he left home to work for Jesse T. Turner to harvest rice and maintain county roads. Turner’s farm was located near the present site of Palm Ridge Subdivision. At the age of twenty on January 22, 1913, Roy married Lois Faulk who was seventeen years old. They were married in Winfree Community. They continued to live and work on the J.T. Turner farm in exchange for room and board. . Roy also worked in Orange for a soda pop company making a drink known as “tak-a-pop”.
In 1917 Roy, Lois and daughter Abbie Don moved back to the old family homestead near the present Gulf States Utilities Plant. He went to work for the Texas Company (Texaco). Roy served on the Prairie View and Orange County School boards. In 1919 they had a son, Roy Melvin and in 1922 son Frank was born. He had served on the local school boards. In April 1936 Roy Hatton resigned from the local board to take a place on the Orange County School Board. He served twenty-four years on April 14, 1960 Roy retired from Texaco and from serving on the school board. His oldest son, Roy Melvin, who was elected by the voters of Precinct 3, replaced him.
Justice of the Peace Bob Gravett married Samuel “Sam” Hatton and the former Jay Thomas, known as “Cousin Jay”. Jay Thomas’ grandparents were Larkin and Annie Thomas, who lived near Bessie Heights Road. The Hattons worked on the John Bland farm. Enterprising Sam Hatton was not satisfied to work long for someone else and he bought 150 acres from Bland for 50 cents an acre across from the old Prairie View School site. He worked his land for 150 days since was paid 50 cents per day for his labor. They had three children Virgil, Earl and Percy. Samuel Hatton died in 1941.
Winfree
In 1830-1831 Abraham Winfree came from Louisiana to the area along Cow Bayou at the place known as Winfree’s Crossing. The land was primarily purchased from men like Claiborne West. He could have applied for Mexican land grants, but apparently didn’t. For a promise of allegiance, Mexico was willing to give out huge tracts of land. Black’s Ferry was later located at the crossing, also known as the Opelousas Trail. That meant cowboys and rovers herding great numbers of cattle from Central Texas had to cross Cow Bayou over the Winfree property to reach lucrative markets in New Orleans. The family brand, a double-3, back to back, was registered in what was then Jefferson County in 1836. He brought his family to the area in 1833.
Around 1850, the Winfrees started a school near the old homestead. About 1893 it was rebuilt on Hoo Hoo Road near Highway 62 on land owned by Benjamin Winfree, son of Abraham Winfree. It had one teacher and seven grades. The teacher was also the janitor and made a few dollars per month. The Winfree School was equipped with removable partitions for use in community entertainments. The school was moved to the last location about 1917-1918 on the northeast corner of the intersection of Hoo Hoo Road and Orange Oil Field Road, or the corner of Hwy. 62 and FM 105. The district had a total of 8,483 acres. By 1941 the Winfree and Prairie View Schools consolidated and became the Bridge City Common School District. On August 29,1915 the Winfree Baptist Church was established on Hwy. 62 just a few miles from FM 105.
Scales
The Scales family has been in Orange County living on part of 900 acres purchased in 1857 by Modes (or Moise) Leblue. He later sold or transferred the property to Treville Granger, Sr. who married Modesti Leblue. Treville Granger, Sr. was the father of Tresmond Granger. The Scales property consisting of just less than 100 acres is accessed from Hwy. 408 via Scales Lane. After 1951, the land was divided between nine children.
James Albert Scales and Mary Eva Granger were married in 1902. James’ parents were James Pinkney Scales and Mary’s parents were Tresimond Granger and Elva Chiasson. Their 10 children were Elmer Roy, Grover Allen, James “Burlie”, Ausbon “Jiggs”, Georgia Bradshaw, Iona Dailey, Geneva Frazer and Cecil Cleborn. They had an infant that died at birth.
James Albert Scales was a native of Milam County and moved to Orange County after 1900. He farmed, ran a cotton gin, delivered mail and grocery man. Mary Eva Granger Scales was a native of Orangefield, the fifth of seven children. We was a storyteller and would recant to her children and grandchildren the story of the Galveston Floods of 1900 and 1915, the great freeze of the 1890s where Sabine Lake froze over solid. Her father drove a team and wagon across the lake near the vicinity of what later was to become the ferry landing near Fred Bailey’s Fish Camp. James and Mary are buried side by side at the Mose Granger Cemetery near Orangefield.
Cemeteries
The community of Bridge City has two old family cemeteries and one public cemetery. The community of Orangefield has two cemeteries.
Two acres of land located on FM 1442 was donated by Moses Hatton and designated as burial space. The cemetery is referred to as the Hatton Cemetery and some call it the Bland Cemetery. Each family had it’s own fenced section. Many of the early settlers buried there. Graves include Bland, Thomas, Hatton and Kibbe descendants along with a confederate solider that are the oldest grave. The cemetery is located about 1/2 mile past the Gulf States Power Plant-Sabine Station on the north side of FM 1442 near the intersection of Turner Road.
Some of the graves in the old cemetery include Trave Foreman, 1866-1888; John Oren Thomas, a private first class in WWII, 1910-1988 who was the last to be interred in the small cemetery in November, 1988. Also John Jephtlah Turner, 1862-1938; Maggie Bradford, 1866-1950; Amanda Hatton, 1875-1902; child Bula Hatton who died in 1918; Arthur M. McDonald, 1897-1918; Abigail Hatton, who died Dec. 1, 1897 at age 33 and her husband, J.M. Hatton. Also John Bland, born in Vermilion Parish, La. in 1811 and died in Orange County in 1886.
There is also David Bland, Jonathan and Elizabeth Turn, Mary Bland 1816-1904; John C. Bland 1848-1895 and husband and wife Martha and Percy Bland and three of their infants. Also Sarah Hatton; Catherine Hatton, who died in 1918 at age 42 and several more infants. They are Robert Hatton 1880-1884; Mary Eva Young 1900-1903 and Oliver Bland born in Orange County in 1874.
The Turner family cemetery is located on Morning Glory. Pioneers of the community are also buried there. Hillcrest Memorial Gardens ,a new modern cemetery was built on Highway 87 between Bridge City and Orange. There are two cemeteries in Orangefield, one on Gulf Street (Granger Cemetery) and one on Jap Lane. The Winfree family has a private cemetery on Winfree Road in the Winfree Community.
Schools
The first one-room private school, the Gravett School, was built about 1878 near the Turner Cemetery next to the G.S. U. power plant. It was built by the John C. Bland and Bob Gravett families. The Gravett family donated the land. The parents of each child attending paid a tuition fee of $12 per month and the students went to school three months of the year. The school’s first teacher was Kate Middleton. Later the land and the school, along with more acreage, were bought by Ben C. Turner. Some of the first students were Roy Hatton, Abbie Turner, Laura Hatton, Annie Thomas, Zeke Gravett, Percy and Henry Bland, Ollie Beauchamp, Ned Harvey and Henry and George Harvey, Jr. The building was used for church serves and school classes.
The school continued as a community school until around 1893 when it was moved to about one mile west of where the Hatton Elementary School currently stands. That made it more centrally located in the community. At that time only one teacher taught eight different grades.
The first school building was also used as a place of worship. It began as a Catholic church but had no resident pastor so the church changed denominations several times, according to the availability of a visiting preacher. Preachers came once or twice a month and were called “circuit riders." Sunday school was held each Sunday afternoon and P.B. Philly, a schoolteacher and Methodist preacher, assisted.
About 1899 the Catron School (listed as Catron School survey on a February 21, 1899 survey map, next to the G. Stevens Survey) was built one mile west of the present Hatton Elementary near East Susan Circle. About sixteen to eighteen students ages 6-18 years old attended. Miss Allie Bland, who later became the county school superintendent, was the first teacher. Miss Bland lived in the Cove Community and rode to school on a horse each morning no matter what the weather. She was one of the first graduates of Orange high school in 1891-1892. She was a strict disciplinarian but was patient with students who had a hard time with their subjects. Her mother, Martha Allen Bland, was said to be one of the first teachers to come to Orange County shortly after the Civil War. According to the minutes of the County School Board for the years 1929-1930 Miss Allie Bland, county school superintendent, reported that electric lights and electric ceiling fans had been installed in the Prairie View School. It was considered one of the most modern in the state.
In 1869 Martha and David Bland were married and made their home near Bessie Heights. Their children were taught in a private school in the community, one of the earliest in the county. In 1881-1882 they moved to Cove area. In 1917 Allie Bland was appointed by commissioners court as county school superintendent then in 1918 ran and won, a rarity in that day for women to be elected.
By 1906 another school was built near the old one and attendance increased to 30 students but still had one teacher.
Another school was built in 1918 called Prairie View School. It had three rooms, four teachers and an auditorium. When the black college at College Station was named Prairie View College, people in the community were annoyed. They felt the college had infringed upon their right to the name. The name was dropped and for years the school was simply referred to as the District School. An auditorium was added in 1925. By then the school had four teachers and continued operation until 1949. The Prairie View School had first through seventh grade. Eighth through eleventh graders either went to Orangefield or Orange to complete high school. At that time students did not attend twelve grades.
The school received water for the cafeteria from a tank car that was buried in the ground and made into a holding tank. Water was brought in by a horse drawn team pulling a wagon holding 55-gallon drums and emptied into the holding tank. The school consisted of three rooms and an auditorium. The number of teachers rose to four. The building was considered one of the most modern of its time in the state. By the 1929-30 school year the school had running water, modern plumbing, electric lights, an auditorium and ceiling fans. Electrical power was received from the power plant in Orange owned by the Stark family.
According to the Orange County School Superintendent’s minutes of August 30, 1920; Prairie View School was classified as a Third Class High School. All other schools in the county were classified as elementary schools of seven grades. In 1926 Winfree School was classified a Second Class High School but in 1928 was changed back to third class.
On August 7, 1941 the Prairie View County School District and the small adjacent Winfree School County District voted to consolidate. The organization of the new board took place at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George C. Harvey. J.F. Hammers, the Orange County school superintendent, acted as chair. The old Winfree School building was sold to Archie L. Grammer for $900.00.
In 1941 the new school district was re-named Bridge City Common School District after a name suggested by Mrs. Winnie Lormand and O. Eudale Granger, a school board member, who asked a group of women at a quilting bee to help with a new school district name. Granger was also the janitor and bus driver for the district. The quilting club was one of the few organized groups at the time. Some of the original members of the quilting group were Mrs. D.V. Werth, Lilly Lehman, Mrs. H.D. Howard and Mrs. L.B. Howard. Several other city names were suggested including Bridge Port, Blandale and Orange Port. The school district decided on the name Bridge City and thus the community became known as Bridge City due to the many bridges one had to cross to enter the town.
The first school principal was Grady Metteauer who was in charge of the whole district. The first school board president was James Burley Scales; Sr. The first board consisted of Mrs. George C. Harvey, secretary and J.W. Cherry as vice president. Members were J.R. Davis, L.R. Sarver, H.F. Johnston and O. Eudale Granger. The teachers at the time were Mrs. M.B. Croak, Mrs. J.W. Thigpen and Miss Lucille Womack. For several years after the two school districts merged the board was made up of three members from the Winfree Community and three members from the Bridge City community and one chosen at large. Even though the two districts consolidated for the 1941-1942 school year a new building was not built immediately due to the war effort. World War II postponed the building of the new campus until 1948.
In December 1941, Grady Metteauer enlisted in the Navy and called a friend, Grover Die, to tell him his job would be open. Die applied and was hired.
On October 24, 1946 the school district held an election to change from a common school district to an independent district. Grover Die was elected the first superintendent. O.Eudale Granger was elected president and J.W. Cherry was named secretary. Board members were J.B. Scales, Sr., Matoil Lormand, Walter Michell, John Dunn and L.R. Sarver. The purpose of the election was also to raise the property valuations above the existing county valuations to vote sufficient bonds for the construction of the proposed modern school plant. The first bond issue was for $140,000. The old Prairie View School was torn down and construction began in 1949 and another bond issue was voted in 1951 for $60,000 to enlarge the first structure that was then inadequate due to the increase in pupils.
In 1946 Grover Die was principal and announced the addition of ninth grade for the 1946-1947 school year. Teachers were Austin Floyd, Mrs. Allend Hubbard, Mrs. M. Medley, Marion Jackson, Mamie Lee Floyd, Mrs. Alex Giroir, Mrs. W.E. Wells, Dixie Joe Babbs, Olga Ashurst and Martha Callaway.
On February 2, 1950 a new eastern sandstone and glass brick school was built on Highway 87 that housed students from first grade to eight. Brick and tile were also used in its construction. There were thirteen classrooms, a community room, and cafeteria and book room. Twenty teachers and a school nurse served the 529 pupils. Five classrooms were in temporary frame buildings. High school students completed their education either at Stark High School in Orange or Orangefield High School. In 1955-1956 a new wing was built onto the school building to house grades 9th to 12th. By 1957 the campus housed all students first through twelfth. The first senior graduating class of the Bridge City Independent School District was in 1957 with 21 graduates. In 2001 that campus is a junior high school. In the summer of 2002 the jr. high building will be torn down and a new senior high school built in the same location. The senior high school (on Bower Drive) will become the junior high campus.
In 1949 the old Prairie View School was torn down but the property was retained by the school district. In 1959 the Hatton Elementary School was built on the site of the old Prairie View School. A prize of $500 sponsored by Nick’s Pharmacy was awarded to Bill Townes following a contest to name the new school. The school board unanimously chose entry #190. The new elementary school was named after Roy Moses Hatton, one of the original settlers of the community. Hatton was a long time county school district board member.
In 1953 Cecil Bryant coached the basketball team known as the Cobras. He allowed the team vote on a new name and became known as the Cardinals for the first time. The team consisted of students first ??????????? through eight grade. The first football team was coached by Casey Bryant in 1955 with grades through ninth on the team. Tenth to twelfth graders went to Stark High School. The football team played other “B” teams in the county. Cecil Bryant bought their first uniforms since the school could not afford to purchase them.
The high school Cardinal football went to the first state finals in 1965 losing to Brownwood 0-14 with Steve Worster as the infamous running back. The next year, 1966, the team won the state championship for the first time against McKinney, 30-6. The team reached state play offs in 1969, 2000, and 2001 having gone the further in the play offs since 1965 in the 2001 season.
A new senior high school was complete in January 1964 on Bower Drive on property owned by the district. It replaced the building that was on Texas Avenue, which became Bridge City Junior High School. The high school was the first completely air-conditioned high school in the area. As a result of being air-conditioned, it was built as a windowless building. The concept was designed by Goleman & Rolfe architects and engineers in Houston in a study sponsored by Carrier Corp. The building was designed to offer compactness and symmetry to speed traffic flow and to ease administrative control. A constant temperature, proper illumination and good acoustical conditions were blended and completely controlled throughout the building. The non-load bearing walls made it possible to add classrooms.
An addition of ten classrooms and a new vocation facility were added in 1967 along with a new gym, named after superintended Dr. E.E. Sims. The growth experienced at that time has sometimes been attributed to the success of the athletic programs, especially football. Bridge City was a state finalist in football in the 1965 season and state champions at the end of the 1966 season. A new library and band hall were built for the 1995-1996 school year. Additional land was purchased in 1967 to build a new baseball field. A new softball field was built in 1994. A new Bridge City High School should be complete by the 2003-2004 school year. It will be located at the old junior high site on Texas Avenue. The current high school on Bower Drive will become the Bridge City Junior High School.
By 1966 the community needed another elementary school so Sims Elementary was built on Robert Street on property donated by Walter Billeaud. The school was named after Dr. E.E. Sims who was superintendent at the time.
In 1995 voters approved a $6.5 million dollar referendum to build a new intermediate school. It houses fourth, fifth and sixth graders. The Bridge City Intermediate School is located directly behind Hatton Elementary off West Roundbunch Road.
The Board of Trustees of the Bridge City Independent School District called for a bond election on Monday, July 16, 2001. The election was set for Saturday, September 29, 2001. A $19,675,000.00 school bond election passed on September 29, 2001 to build a new high school and the following renovations.
New high school $11,900,000 Renovate jr. high cafeteria for vocational dept. $580,000 Renovate jr. high band/choir for theater arts/drama $350,000 Renovate jr. high girls gym for high school PE gym $450,000 Renovate high school athletic stadium $380,000 Renovate old vocational building for high school athletic facility $690,000 Renovate band hall $80,000 Renovate existing high school for new jr. high $3,300,000 Renovate jr. high P.E. gym $650,000 Renovations at BC Intermediate School $240,000 (fencing, driveways) Renovate operation dept/Maint, Transp/Food Serv $400,000
With the passing of the bond election, funding for the renovations at Hatton and Sims Elementary Schools will be taken from the current budget at no additional tax increase to the community.
Renovate Hatton Elem. (all central office staff will be relocated at this campus) $2,600,000
Renovate Sims Elementary $1,800,000
Bridge City Independent School District superintendents have included Grover Die, 1941 (six months); Austin Floyd, 1941 (served as interim for six months while Die worked in the shipyard in Orange, Texas during W.W.II. The war effort needed all able-bodied persons to help build ships. Grover Die, 1942- 1961; Dr. Wallace C. Hill, 1961-1962; (Hill served from August 1961 through February 1962 and was appointed by the state while the school board searched for a permanent replacement for Die); Dr. E.E. Sims, 1962-1967; Glenn Pearson, 1967-1990; Dr. Harold Ramm, 1990-1997; Joe Chenella, interim, 1997. Bill Ortego was interim 1997-1998 and Sam Lucia became superintendent in April 1998 to present (2002).
Bridge City Homecoming Queens Since 1956
1956 Patsy Evans 1957 ? 1958 ? 1959 ? 1960 Darlene Peck 1961 Ann Sigler 1962 Diane Herckenratt 1963 Sue Dupuis 1964 ? 1965 Maureen Mullins 1966 Jodel Johnson 1967 Betty Dauterive 1968 JoNell Burch 1969 Nancy Bell 1970 Lana Landry 1971 Theresa Doucet 1972 Bonnie Montet 1973 Sharon Tippet 1974 Gennie Goforth 1975 Brigid Angelle 1976 June Nezat 1977 Terri Medley 1978 Melanie LeDoux 1979 Christi Ballard 1980 Tina Sigler 1981 Kellie Little 1982 Myra Rasberry 1983 Gia Gipson 1984 Sharon Shaw 1985 Jan Mannino 1986 Kerry Burns 1987 Karla Nash 1988 Kristi Cole 1989 Dawn McComber 1990 Heidi Beaumont 1991 Wendy Slaydon 1992 Jennifer Townzen 1993 Courtney Kelcher 1994 Janay Collier 1995 Christie Richard 1996 Lisa Fusilier 1997 Courtney Huckabay 1998 Kristi Wood 1999 Kellie Kyler 2000 Karon Richards 2001 Shanna Brasseaux 2002 Mattie Neely
Miss Bridge City Title Holders:
The Miss Bridge City beauty pageant began in 1971 hosted by the Business and Professional Women’s Organization. The group changed its name in 2001 to Community Women in Action and continues to host the Miss Bridge City contest.
1971 Jackie Barnett 1972 Penny Moore 1973 Cheri Henderson 1974 Peggy Young 1975 Luann Dumas 1976 Denise Lormand 1977 Dena Addison 1978 Sharon Gregory 1979 Teresa Heran 1980 Coleen Caillouet 1981 Laura Smith 1982 Mary Huckabay 1983 Prix Hebert 1984 Angela Nickum 1985 Kristi Copeland 1986 Debra Hanley 1987 Heather Goodman 1988 Alyson Nickum 1989 Stephanie Johnston 1990 Lanna Price 1991 Holly Guillot 1992 Amber Hudson 1993 Krissy Finch 1994 Monica Hollier 1995 Kari Degeyter 1996 Katie Olson 1997 Christy Peebles 1998 Kelli Kyler 1999 Sarah Hollub 2000 Erin Pence 2001 Brtiney Elizonda 2002 Jessica Hamerly 2003 Minda Tousha
Orangefield I.S.D. & Community
The Orangefield Independent School District was formulated in 1925 with the combination of the Oil Field Community, the Granger School and the Oilla School. The school had progressed from a rural school with only four teachers who taught in a small frame building, to a fully accredited high school and grammar school with 13 teachers who taught in a modern, well equipped brick building. In 1923, two years after the boom of the Orange oil field, A.E. Josephson of Orange, started a subscription campaign for funds for a school. The money was raised and in the fall a grammar school was started in a small frame building. During the first two years after the establishment of the Orangefield School, the oil field students of high school age attended school at Oilla. In 1925 the Orangefield School was enlarged to include a four-year high school. In the fall of 1926, Orangefield was voted an independent district. Bonds for the $50,000 brick building were voted in June 1926 and construction began in July of that year. That same year Oilla School consolidated with Orangefield School. Later in 1931, the Duncan Woods School also consolidated with Orangefield. The present configuration of the Orangefield ISD took place in 1955 with the consolidation of the Orangefield ISD and the McLewis ISD.
The Orangefield ISD is fully accredited by the Texas Education Agency and operates a totally integrated system of schools preK-12. There are approximately 1,630 student enrolled as of 2002. The district operates three separate campuses. All of these are in the same general location on Highway 105 in the Orangefield Community. Orangefield Elementary School houses grades preK-4, Orangefield Junior High School houses grades 5-8 and Orangefield High Schoolhouses grader 9-12. The Orangefield Junior High School was constructed in 1979.
The community of Orangefield encompassing 67 square miles is in the center of Orange County bordered by Vidor, Bridge City and Orange. A majority of the 5,800 residents of the school district are employed by major industry in the area. Crawfish industries and agricultural enterprises; along with the many miles of pipelines add to the economy.
In order to serve the growing colony, Japan native Kichimatsu Kishi deeded land for a church and a school. In 1928, Kishi donated 7.7 acres for what was the originally Orangefield High School site and he donated the land for the area’s first church and provided the water and electricity.
Bridges-Ferries-Road System
In the 1800s no bridges crossed Cow Bayou. Settlers traveled to Prairie View and Orangefield on flat boats moved by poles. The ferry at Orangefield was called Black’s Ferry. The community of Orange Oil Field was later renamed Orangefield in the mid 1920s. In 1826 John McGaffey, who had settled in the area in 1825, applied to the government of the Province of Texas for permission to operate a ferry across Cow Bayou.
Access to the Prairie View community was by the Dryden Ferry over the Neches River and a drawbridge over Cow Bayou at East Roundbunch and a drawbridge at Orangefield for trading in Orange. According to a United States Texas State General Land Office map of 1874, Cow Bayou was recorded in the Office of the Library of Congress in Washington.
A shell ridge, several yards wide and in some places ten to fifteen feet high, extended along Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge and Boons Island (survey map 2/21/1899—later named Stewts Island). The shell was used for road construction in Orange and Jefferson Counties. During excavation near the bridge, Indian arrowheads and skeleton parts, said to belong to the native Indians, were found.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the main roadway from the Port Arthur area was across the Neches River by the Dryden Ferry. Travelers drove on a mile long trussell to a landing at Bailey’s Fish Camp on Lake Street. They then traveled down Ferry Road to Farm-to-Market 408 to FM 105 east and across Cow Bayou to Orange.
According to an Orange County Court order of March 18, 1865 John Bland was appointed overseer of Road Precinct #5. The precinct began at the Neches River (Tives) Ferry to the Bonner Old Place.
After Orange County was created as a separate entity from Jefferson County in 1852, the first task of the commissioner’s court was to improve the roads. Transportation had been a problem in the area since the first settlers arrived. In the late 1830’s the first road built by a governmental agency stretched from the new community of Beaumont on the Neches River to Ballew’s Ferry on the Sabine River. One of the first official roads built by Orange County was one from Madison northward toward Burkeville to the county line. In 1852 another county road was to run from the Sabine River westward by the Cow Bayou bridge (near present day Interstate-10) to the Tevis Ferry on the Neches River.
In 1900 the Mansfield Ferry, built and operated by G.T. Mansfield and his six sons, began operation until about 1927 when the first Neches River Bridge was complete between Jefferson and Orange County. The Mansfields built three ferries during the 27-year period. The flat vessels were capable of transporting four-six automobile per trip. They were originally operated by hand sweeps but engines were later installed. The Neches River had two other ferries near Beaumont, Hickory Street Ferry and Collier’s Ferry.
With the construction of the Neches River Bridge at Beaumont and the completion of Highway 90 in the early 1930’s, a major highway had finally crossed the county through Vidor. The last bottleneck for traffic on the Old Spanish Trail (Highway 90) was broken in 1927 when the Sabine River Bridge-Old Spanish Trail officially opened. “Ma” Ferguson, then Governor of Texas, attended the ceremony. No longer was the traveler delayed an hour or more when crossing from Texas into Louisiana. The Sabine River Bridge was at the east end of Green Avenue. The bridge remained until the late 1950s when the highway department built Interstate 10 and a new bridge north of downtown Orange was complete over the Sabine River.
Dryden Ferry
Before the completion of the Rainbow Bridge in 1938 travelers crossed the Neches River on the Dryden Ferry that began operation on May 8, 1926. The small wooden ferry made free trips from 6:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. then charged 50 cents per car for the evening hours.
The Crittenden Towing Company had the contract to operate the ferry and put two 12-car barges and three towboats, the Vivian, Mary Ann and Ruth, on the job 24 hours a day. The ferry was about 85 feet long by 24 feet wide. The ferries hauled about 18,000 cars across the river each month. A small tugboat, that could reverse direction by swinging around, propelled it and the voyage usually required 15 minutes if no ship were close. There was a mile long trestle on the Orange County side beginning at Bailey’s Fish Camp at the end of Lake Street that you drove your automobile to reach the bank of the Neches River. A pile driver on floats drove wooden pilings for the 1-½ mile board road through the marsh to the end of Lake Street. Then creosoted trestle timers were bolted horizontally to the pilings, upon which 4-inch creosoted stringers were bolted to the trestles. The bridge through the marsh and a 4-foot high wooden fences built on each side, and being only 16-feet wide, there was barely room for one auto to pass another.
Conferences were held in Orange and the result was an agreement with Governor Miriam “Ma” Ferguson to allot about $60,000 in funds to build the wooden trestle on the Orange County side to a ferry landing. Orange County put up $35,000 to improve or build its side of the new road. The wooden ferry link in Orange County was 5,117 feet long and it crossed the Old River Cove.
The Jefferson County link of the highway to the ferry landing was constructed by the county with $30,000 from a $2 million bond issue voted in 1921 and with additional money from the county’s road and bridge funds.
Orange County resident C.W. McFarlane contracted with Precinct 2 Jefferson County (Port Arthur) to operate a toll ferry. McFarlane owned the 12-car capacity wooden barge and Randolph and Lloyd Crittenden of Port Arthur, owned the tug that pushed the ferry. Those that worked on the barge were Robert Bailey, Bill Billeaud, Ferris Gillette, Fred Bailey and Henry Lloyd.
Within months of beginning the ferry it became obvious that something more substantial than a ferry, something quicker and safer, was necessary to cross the Neches River.
Rainbow Bridge
On April 26, 1927, Jefferson County commissioners applied to the U.S. war department for a permit to build a bridge at or near the Dryden Crossing. At a hearing in June 1927, Beaumont, which lies upstream on the Neches River, protested a bridge being built at the site. The Beaumont Chamber of Commerce referred to the bridge as a “menace to navigation."
No permit was issued since the county did not have funds with which to build a bride and therefore did not press application for the permit. A Jefferson County bond election on a $4 million bond issue, which include $850,000 for a new bridge, was defeated on Dec. 10, 1927. On Aug. 10, 1929, a $4 million bond issue including $1.1 million for a new bridge, was defeated, while bonds for a courthouse were approved. The road improvement bond election was reset and again defeated on Sept. 19, 1929. In July, 1931, a suggestion for a tunnel instead of a bridge was deemed unfeasible. H.W. Gilbert’s suggestion came after several bond issues were defeated for a bridge. The idea came from the Beaumont group who did not want to lose the travelers through Beaumont on their way to Orange. The idea of a tunnel was finally dropped after research showed it would cost $6 million to tunnel under the river.
After more than a decade of struggle for an adequate crossing across the Neches River between south Orange and Jefferson counties, the last major ferry crossing was replaced by the Rainbow Bridge on Highway 87 between Prairie View and Port Arthur. Opening in 1938 it was said to be the highest bridge in the South. The community of Prairie View (almost named Tunnel City) came to life as a residential community in the late 1930s after the completion of the Port Arthur-Orange Bridge.
The city of Port Arthur had been particularly interested in a crossing, since by 1925 its population had reached 30,000 and its citizens sought a way to circumvent the barrier created by the river.
In 1927 C.G. Parker, Allan Smith and William (Bill) Lea of Orange began to campaign for a bridge to replace the ferry across the Neches River. Port Arthurians en route to Orange or on their way to Louisiana sometimes had to wait as long as four to five hours to board the ferry. O
n December 10, 1927 the first of several bond issues for a bridge was defeated. In May and June 1929 the Neches River went on a rampage. Floods halted traffic on the Old Spanish trail between Beaumont and Orange. Traffic was detoured over the Dryden Ferry and Beaumont motorists got a sample of Orange travelers’ frustrations.
On April 3, 1931 the state announced it would contribute $325,000 to build a bridge if Orange and Jefferson counties paid the other half. In August 1931, Jefferson County commissioners asked G.G. Wickline, state bridge engineer, to prepare plans on a proposed bridge across the Neches that would meet with war department approval. Wickline prepared plans for three types of structures, a bascule, vertical lift bridge and fixed high bridge.
In March 1932, the war department indicated by letter to the highway commission that it might grant a permit for a structure at a slightly different location. Wickline asked the attitude of the county on moving the bridge several hundred feet north of the Dryden Crossing. The aim was to avoid spanning the Old River Cove. After several hearings, a bridge permit was granted by the United States War Department on December 26, 1933. Bridge foes, however, said that the permit did not mean anything and that the bridge would never be built. They prepared plans to block financing.
After another stormy 10 months, a comprise was reached. On October 28, 1934 Beaumont officials offered to stop the opposition if the vertical clearance was raised to 185 feet so that the tallest dirigible-tender ship in the US Navy could pass under the bridge. This height was bartered down to between 155 and 176 feet. The Navy’s USS Patako was the tallest in the fleet but sank in World War I and never made it to the Port of Beaumont.
Bridge construction plans had already started moving. On November 5, 1934 the Texas House passed a bill for bridge #111-9 construction. On November 9, 1934 the Texas Senate also approved the bridge bill and on November 30, 1934 Governor Miriam Ferguson signed it into law.
Jefferson County voters approved a $750,000 bond issue by a 7 to 1 margin on January 12, 1935. With the help of a $1,141,742 grant allocation from the federal Public Works Administration and President Franklin Roosevelt and $651,258 from the state highway commission. The WPA began in 1935 by executive order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt as the Works Progress Program. It was renamed Works Projects Administration in 1939, when it was under the Federal Works Agency. The WPA in it’s eight years of existence employed about 8,500,000 individuals at a total cost of nearly $11 billion. Workers built roads, buildings, airports, public utilities, recreational facilities and bridges, just to name a few. The cost to build the Rainbow Bridge was $2.75 million.
According to W.E. Lea, mayor of Orange and a prime backer of the bridge project, Orange County lent its moral support in the struggle for approval for construction of the bridge, but the county was unable to participate in the funding of the bridge because of its financial status.
About 1921, Orange County had almost gone bankrupt, voting about $2 million for roads when the total valuation of the county was less than $15 million. When the time came to build a road and trestle to the ferry, Orange County had to lease warrants for this structure, which had not been repaid.
“While Orange County has not been able to assist financially because of the above named conditions”, Lea said, “her best efforts have always been directed toward building of the bridge”.
In September 1935, the state highway department and Jefferson County selected G.G. Wickline as engineer in charge of the Neches project. Wickline took a leave of absence as the state bridge engineer to oversee the building of the Neches River Bridge.
In order to take advantage of the federal allotment for the bridge, it was necessary to have the plans and specifications drawn and a contract awarded by December 15, 1935. Wickline selected the firm of Ashe, Howard, Needles and Tammin of Kansas City, one of the four largest in the national, to do the design work since greats peed was imperative.
The first portion of the plans was ready by November 12, 1935, and bids were advertised for. On December 12, 1935, the Union Bridge and Construction Co. of Kansas City, Mo., was awarded the substructure contract on a low bid of $828,720. Union Bridge subcontracted with Austin Bridge Co. to do the approach work. A contract to build the steel superstructure was awarded to Taylor-Fichter Steel Corporation of New York on January 19, 1936 for $1,613,800.
Wickline assembled his force of highway department engineers with the aim of hiring all Texas engineers and proving that Texans could build such a bridge. Since this was the first time a bridge with caisson pier foundations was built in Texas, any experience on such bridges these men would have had would have to have been gained out-of-state. Wickline’s top assistant was P.V. Pennybacker, who was employed as construction engineer.
Other assistant engineers representing the state highway department’s interests were C.E. Roark, in charge of piling foundation work; A.L. Dulin, directing work on the superstructure; R.O. Lytton, survey work, inspector of steel erection; B.F. Greenwalde, inspector of steel work erection; William Hunter, inspector of rivets and painting, and Sam E. Roper, pile driving and concrete inspection work.
The survey for the bridge was completed in February 1936 and approval was given to Streeter Dredging Company of Beaumont in March to dig a 3,500-foot canal on each side of the Neches to solve the problem of transporting materials and equipment along the marshy project site. The foundation work on the bridge began in March 1936.
On September 4, 1936, the PWA ordered work begun on the span superstructure. On February 10, 1937, the first steel arrived for the superstructure, and on December 31, the north and south spans were joined in mid-river. Only slight jacking of the bridge spans was needed to make the two sides meet. Assistant engineer Lytton, who was in charge of the steel work on the south side, was the first man to cross over the steel work from one side of the river to the other side.
The paving of the span was completed on April 2, 1938, and the bridge was opened on September 8, 1938. It was dedicated as the Port Arthur-Orange Bridge and replaced the Dryden Ferry as part of the “Hug The Coast Highway” on State Highway 87. Six men lost their lives during the 2-½ years of construction.
The Neches River Bridge was the second highest bridge over navigable water in the country and the highest in the south at the time it was built. The San Francisco and Oakland Bridge, which was under construction at the same time as the Neches Bridge, had a clearance of 218 feet above water compared to the 176.9 feet of clearance for the Port Arthur-Orange Bridge.
At the bridge construction site, which is about 3,300 feet upstream from the ferry crossing and about a mile from the mouth of the Neches River, the river is about 1,000 feet wide and the river valley is about five miles wide and is termed marsh. The normal river channel was about 20 feet deep, but it had been dredged out to about 32 feet deep. The bridge was built to have a span of 680 feet across the river, with 600 feet of that distance having a vertical clearance of 176.9 feet.
The substructure of the steel cantilevered bridge was built with eight piers of large reinforced concrete under the long span of the bridge and about 68 smaller piers of the pedestal type under the approach span. The long piers extend from 85 to 110 feet below the surface and rise 20 feet above it. The smaller structures are supported by untreated timber pilings driven at an average dept of 75 feet.
About 1,580 wooden pilings were used in the foundations for the approach piers. About half of the sticks of piling were shipped by railroad from Oregon and were of Douglas fir. The remainder of the pilings were of southern pine delivered from nearby sources. The greater portion of the pine pilings cam from the timber forest of Hardin, Jasper and Newton Counties. Some came from Shreveport, La. area, part from Mississippi near McComb and the remainder of pine from mobile, Alabama.
The steel superstructure was designed to stand up under a wind pressure of 75 pounds per square foot, which equates to an approximate hurricane force wind of 140 miles per hour. About 9,600 tons of structural steel was used in the construction of the superstructure. About 4,000 tons of the steel came from the fabricating plant of Jones and Laughlin at New Orleans and the remaining 5,600 tons from the fabricating plant of the Forest Pitt Bridge Works at Canonsburg, Pa, a suburb of Pittsburgh.
The steel material was manufactured from the greeter part at the rolling mills of Jones and Laughlin of Pittsburgh. The larger wide flange girder beams were manufactured by U.S. Steel Corp. at Homestead Mill in Pittsburgh. The steel material was loaded onto barges in amounts of 350-500 tons. These barges were towed down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans then through the Harvey Locks into the Intracoastal Canal and to the bridge site.
The total length of the bridges and approaches is 7,760 feet. The incline of the bridge is 5 percent and the original roadway was 26 feet wide between railings and 22 ½ wide between curbs. An 18-inch walkway flanks each side of the roadway. The highest point on the bridge is 230 feet above mean sea level.
The $2,75 million Port Arthur-Orange Bridge opened on September 8, 1938 even though painting of the stretches of steel work was not be completed for several months. A two-day celebration was planned by a committee headed by Jefferson County Commissioner H.O. Mills, a leader in the move to build the bridge.
The first day of the celebration, Wednesday, Sept 7, was marked by a dinner hosted by E.W. Brown, jr. at the Pinehurst Club. Attending were speakers in the next day’s celebration program, builders of the bridge and others who helped make the event possible. Orange Mayor W.E. Lea was the master of ceremonies at the dinner and at other celebration events. Nearly 100 attended the Wednesday night affair, which included a horse show with Edgar Brown III showing horses and a phaeton from Paris drawn by a pair of hackney ponies. Music was provided by Lutcher Slade Brown. A 35-member delegation from Port Arthur made the trip to Orange by a chartered “super” bus. Among those attending from Beaumont was Mayor Ray Coale.
The next morning, Thursday, September 8, the new bridge was opened to westbound traffic from 6:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Traffic was heavy during these early hours as many people hurried to cross the Neches River from Orange/Prairie View area. A large portion of those attending from Orange County made the trip from Orange to Port Arthur via Beaumont in order to avoid the possible jam on the bridge.
The unpaved gaps in the road from Orange to West Orange were in good condition on the celebration day, aiding the celebration travelers. Grading and sectioning of the road from Orange to the bridge was almost completed between Orange and Cow Bayou (in Orangefield) and work was expected to begin soon on the west side of Cow Bayou.
The program began on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. at the Yellow Jacket Stadium in Port Arthur with Mayor Lea, who is credited with having the most to do with “things that actually caused the construction of the bridge”, serving as master of ceremonies. E.W. Brown, Jr., commissioner of wharves and docks at Orange, delivered the address of welcome on behalf of Orange. Brown said, “I had occasion to e on the bridge last week and while looking over the waterways and surrounding territory, I envisioned the possibility of a great industrial center along the Sabine and Neches rivers. In that vision, I could see industries both large and small, each playing their part in making the Sabine-Neches district the leading industrial center in the south with this great structure, the Port Arthur-Orange Bridge, playing a leading part”.
Also speeches were made that morning by Harry Hines, highway commissioner; R.L. Davis, Orange County Judge; Ray Coale, Beaumont mayor; Alan Shivers, state senator; Gus Street, assistant regional director PWA; Julian Montgomery, R.L. Bobbit, highway commission; Senator Tom Connaly, and Rep. Martin Dies of Orange.
The Bengal Guards Drum & Bugle Corps of Orange, headed by director Mrs. L. W. Hustmyre and assistant director L.R. Gay, the only uniformed group, appeared at 10:30 a.m. Orange County Commissioners Court was among those recognized for their part in making the bridge and highways leading to it a reality.
Texas Governor James V. Allred and officials of Texas, Louisiana and U.S. governmental agencies participated in dedicatory ceremonies on opening day, climaxing a colorful entertainment program that began the day before. An estimated 30,000 visitors attended the bridge celebration. The center span and the long approach spans were packed with observers. The red, white and blue ribbon was cut by Mary Elizabeth Mills, 16-year old daughter of Jefferson County Commissioner H.O. Mills, at 1:30 p.m. officially opening the bridge. Mills was one of the main backers behind the bridge project.
After Miss Mills snipped the ribbon to open the structure, a 20-mile caravan of waiting cars began the move slowly up the approaches to the crest and on across this “testimonial to the co-operative, up-and-doing spirit of Texas”. A boat regatta progressed on the Neches River as part of the opening ceremonies. Hal Carter of Orange was a member of that committee and several boats from Orange entered.
Among the more colorful events of opening day was the 184-foot dive of Ogden Smith of Galveston from the new bridge. The 34-year old daredevil suffered only minor rib bruises from his near 70 mile per hour dip into the Neches River.
The red beacon light on top of the arches of the Rainbow Bridge was said to have been installed by Jefferson Thomas Outhouse of Prairie View. He was an electrician from Local #390. His son Billy Thomas Outhouse (deceased) and grandchildren Wayne Outhouse and Pam Outhouse Smith are Bridge City residents.
A bronze plaque listing state and county officials at the time the bridge was cast but was not installed on the Orange County side until about 1980 when Wade Granger noticed the missing plaque. Wade’s brother Thomas (Tick) Granger, Jr., Precinct 3 commissioner, noticed the Jefferson County side had a plaque but not the Orange County side of the bridge. Orange County Commissioner Court passed a resolution to have the plaque made and paid for its installment. The Grangers father, Thomas (Tick) Granger, Sr. was the Precinct #3 Orange County Commissioner in 1938.
Naming of bridges other than descriptive names is done by local communities rather than the state highway department. The Rainbow Bridge was first officially called the Neches River Bridge or the Port Arthur-Orange Bridge, or the Orange-Port Arthur Bridge, but locals had a number of names for it.
In 1957 the North Port Arthur Lions Club decided to host a contest to give the 19-year old bridge a name. Out of thousands of entries submitted, several were submitted calling it the Rainbow Bridge. With the help of her grandfather, six-year old Christy Jean McClintock of Port Arthur had the earliest postmarked entry of Rainbow Bridge, winning her the recognition for naming the bridge and a $50 saving's bond.
On September 8, 1988 the Bridge City Chamber of Commerce along with the Orange and Jefferson County Historical Societies, Port Arthur Historical Society, Groves, Vidor and Port Arthur Chambers of Commerce, Orange County Historical Commissioner Dr. Howard Williams, Wade Granger of Orangefield, Christy McClintock, Bill Potter, resident engineer Texas Department of Highways-Port Arthur and Frank James, resident engineer Texas Department of Highways-Orange made up the committee for the 50th anniversary of the Rainbow Bridge. The committee was chaired by Glenda Dyer and co-chaired by Charlotte Schexnider Chiasson.
A breakfast anniversary was held in Bridge City at the Sparkle Paradise grounds at 8:30 a.m. Reverend Wiley Wilson gave the invocation, color guard was from the U.S. Naval Reserve Center, Orange and Jefferson County Commissioner Dave Smith, Jr. Precinct 3 and Orange County Commissioner Donald Cole, Precinct #3, made addresses. State Senator Carl Parker of Port Arthur and Judge of 9th District Court of Appeals Don Burgess of Bridge City made a speech. Introductions were made of those having a prominent part in the building or opening celebration of the Port Arthur-Orange Rainbow Bridge. Franklin Young, District Highway Department Engineer and R.E. Stotzer, State Highway Engineer made additional addresses.
The master of ceremonies was Gordon Baxter, author and radio personality. Damon Bickham, Glenda Dyer and Neil Bond produced a documentary on the bridge. The son of late Orange Mayor W.E. Lea, Hugh Lea welcomed the crowd of some 500 people. Mary Elizabeth Mills Harle, daughter of the late Commissioner H.O. Mills of Port Arthur, cut the anniversary cake. The Beaumont Fire Department Band provided the music. The Golden Triangle Antique Car Club provided an antique car display with automobiles built prior to 1938. The City of Bridge City provided a photograph display. Children from Hatton Elementary School helped pass out programs. Larry Buchman was the principal.
In 1993 the Texas Department of Transportation began the project to refurbish the Rainbow Bridge. The $15 million job included removing the bridge decking, sandblasting the old paint and repainting and added special safety features. Walkways were removed from both side of the roadway widening the travel lanes from 22 ½ feet to 28 feet. The highway department replaced the all-metal rails with concrete and metal railings, two dolphins (or coffer dams/bumper pads in river) new lights as well as other improvements. The 4-year project included rebuilding 375 feet of the roadway leading up to the structure on each end. When the sandblasting was done, large white tarps were constructed to encapsulate the sandblasters, catching the lead paint slivers so they would not fall into the marsh below. Environmentalists halted the project until they devised a way to catch the paint, thus not disturbing the eco system. Once the paint debris was gathered, the slivers were then put into large wet concrete blocks thus sealing them forever. The blocks were stored at the foot of the bridge until the bridge painting project was complete. The blocks were then placed at the bottom of the new coffer dams, which had a concrete bottom poured first, blocks put at the bottom then another layer of concrete was poured.
Renovations were completed by September 1997 and a grand reopening and rededication was held the following month. The Bridge City and Port Arthur Chambers of Commerce and Texas Department of Transportation hosted the rededication ceremony and unveiling of the state historical marker on Wednesday, October 8, 1997 at 10:00 a.m. at the center of the high structure. The committee members for the rededication were Charlotte Chiasson and Constable John Ford from Bridge City Chamber of Commerce, Verna Rutherford and Bob Bowers of the Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce and Marc Sheppard and Robert Conner with the Texas Department of Transportation. The master of ceremony was Walter Crook, Beaumont District engineer for the TX DOT.
Several distinguished guests attended the ceremony including Mary Elizabeth Mills Harle, daughter of H.O. Mills who was the Jefferson County commissioner in 1938 and who cut the first ribbon in ceremonies September 8, 1938. Also attending was Joyce Darling, daughter of G.G. Wickline, who was the original state engineer for the bridge project and Christy McClintock, who won the bridge naming contest in 1957. The state highway project engineer was Charlotte Warner. Unveiling the historical marker was Elizabeth Williams representative of the Orange County Historical Commission and Susan Arceneaux, coordinator of the Jefferson County Historical Commission. The Golden Triangle Antique Car Club and the Golden Triangle Model A Ford Club provided the ceremonial “first drive”. The Rainbow Bridge had celebrated its’ 59th anniversary on September 8, 1997.
The renovated Rainbow Bridge accommodates southbound traffic on State Highway 87. The Veterans Memorial Bridge handles northbound traffic and has three lanes.
Cow Bayou Bridge
In August 1940 the State of Texas built a bridge over Cow Bayou on The Orange-Port Arthur Road, or Highway 87. Prior to that time the only bridge over Cow Bayou, near Prairie View, was a swing bridge at Harms Place on E. Roundbunch. The state built the Cow Bayou bridge and six miles of approaches at a cost of approximately $386,000. About 3,000 people attended the formal opening. Miriam David of Orange cut the ribbon. Her father, J.H. David, Sr. was the master of ceremonies. The Maroon and Gold Band of Port Arthur’s Thomas Jefferson High School performed that day. The Orange county judge at the time was F.W. Hustmyre.
There are three sets of huge iron wedges that lock the World War II-era bridge into position when it is closed. Two are on the Orange side, two in the middle and two on the Bridge City side of the bridge. There is a system of levers, relay switches and breakers that require about 3-4 people to operate. In additional to the signal technicians, another 5-6 people are needed to open the bridge. The bridge requires 24-hour notice before opening.
The Cow Bayou Bridge opened on Monday, July 21, 2003 for a 45-foot yacht to pass upstream to the home of Jack and Anneita Piedisccalzi who were new water front residents to the Bridge City community. The bridge had only been open about 2000 when the Coast Guard call TX Dot and said a barge had broken loose. It never came to fruition. A few months after that, it was opened for testing. It had been almost two decades since a boat large enough to require opening the bridge had navigated the waters of the bayou. In the 1950s-1960s is was common to open it for pogie boats and barges to moor just upstream.
TXDOT officials hope to remove the old bridge but have been delayed on plans by the Texas Historical Commission (2003). THC officials had said the bridge will stay, but TX DOT officials want the old bridge removed and a larger, newer one to replace it. THC say it’s only two left in the state, the other being over the Sabine River on Highway 12 in Deweyville, Texas. Plans have already been drawn up with a cost proposal of about $6 million to a tall bridge built. According to TX DOT county engineer, Clark Slacum there could be two options: 1) open the bridge, just leave it there and build over it. 2) Remove the lift span and put it in a park or other public place, but it is not visually appealing. TXDOT just wants to take it out. The Highway 87 bridge is an emergency escape route in case of hurricanes or other reasons to evacuate. TX DOT does not want the possibility of needing to raise the bridge to let shrimp boats get to safe harbor someday while heavy traffics waits to be evacuated. As of July 2003 the historical commission has not been willing to relinquish their demands.
Hwy. 87 bridge (newer span) At Cow Bayou
The sister span to the original Cow Bayou bridge was completed April 3, 1972. The length is 2,525 feet long and 44 feet 3 inches wide. It has a vertical clearance of 55 feet over mean high waters. It is 65 feet above sea level to the top most elevation. The new span was built for south bound traffic and with the expectation that one day the old Cow Bayou Bridge would be torn out and an identical span built for north bound traffic.
Veteran’s Memorial Bridge
It took more than 30 years for the second span across the Neches River to become a reality. Faced with increasing traffic and the limitations of the narrow 22-½ foot roadway of the Rainbow Bridge, officials began a concentrated effort for a new bride in the 1950s. Definite plans for a second span were authorized in 1959 and purchasing of the right of way for the structure began.
Running into environmental objections, in 1966 the state decided to build the new bridge downstream of the Rainbow Bridge instead of upstream. Following Congressional approval of new environmental legislation in 1968, it took another 13 years to receive a permit to build the bridge. Completed plans were submitted to the state in 1982 and a contract was awarded to Williams Brothers Construction Co. of Houston in 1984. Six years later the new bridge was dedicated on September 8, 1990, the 52nd anniversary of the opening of the Rainbow Bridge.
The Veteran’s Memorial Bridge, sister span to the Rainbow Bridge, is the first cable-stayed suspension bridge in Texas, with 143 vertical foot clearance. The overall length of the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge is 9,440 feet and the Rainbow Bridge is 7,760 feet long. The incline of the new bridge is 3.65 percent with the old bridge having a 5 percent incline. The highest point on the Veteran’s Memorial is 272 feet to the top of the towers, and the highest point on the arch of the Rainbow Bridge is 220 feet from the water.
The Veterans Memorial Bridge, a Figg and Muller Engineers redesign which was done at Williams Brothers option, features a 1,480 foot segmental, cable stayed main span composed of a 640 ft center span which is flanked by side spans of 280 ft and 140 ft. The north and south approaches consist of 740 ft of flat slabs and 3,240 ft of ASSHTO Type’s 54 and 72 concrete girder spans with cast in place decks.
A model of the new bridge was tested in a wind tunnel to withstand hurricane force winds of up to 150 miles per hour. The bridge has a 54-foot roadway accommodating two lanes of traffic, a climbing lane and two safety lanes.
Williams Brother Construction Co. manufactured and erected each of the 385 pre-cast units in the main span as well as performing all of the approach span work on the $23 million structure. The side span portions of the main span were erected by the span-by-span method utilizing temporary piers. The stayed, center span consists of a pair of one-direction cantilevers that were erected by use of a beam and winch system. Williams Brothers’ forces achieved a production rate on the cantilevers of one cycle every four days. With this production rates the cantilevers were each completed in approximately 3 ½ months.
By August 1, 1990 the work remaining consisted of insulation of a system of beautification lighting that will highlight the stays. Robert Minchey was the construction company’s foreman. Andy Seely of Orange was the original project engineer for the state highway department and Charlotte Warner succeeded Seely. The final project engineer for the highway department was Howard Caldwell.
The cost to the Texas Highway Department to build the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge was $22.8 million. Construction began in 1985 and was completed by 1991. A dedication ceremony was held September 8, 1990 on the 52nd anniversary of the Rainbow Bridge. The dedication was held at 10:00 a.m. at the center of the new bridge with several thousand in attendance. Music was provided for the ceremony by the Bridge City, Thomas Jefferson and Lincoln High School bands. The Fifth Infantry Division Band led the procession up the bridge from Fort Polk, Louisiana.
The Cajun Wing of the Confederate Air Force, based in Lafayette, Louisiana, held an air show at 10:30 a.m. at the dedication. The show included 10-12 plans of World War II and Vietnam vintage including a T-6, PV-2 Harpoon, 0-2 Cessna observation aircraft and a BT-13. Pilots were from Louisiana, Tennessee, Southeast and other parts of Texas. The air show consisted of numerous flyovers in formation plus a number of aerobatics. Among the pilots flying aerobatics were Gary Hudson of Conroe flying a T-6 single engine WWII trainer. Hudson did loop rolls, hammerhead stalls and smoke screens. Norm Koerner of Memphis, Tennessee flew a PV-2 Harpoon WWII bomber owned by the Confederate Air Force. He is a professional pilot for Northwest Airlines and had been an aviator since he was 14 years old. Flying with him was Richard Mitchell of Lafayette, La, wing commander of the Cajun Wing Confederate Air Force. All plans for the air show had to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. They were given exact coordinates of the bridge at latitude 29 degrees 58 minutes 45 sections and longitude 93 degrees 52 minutes 15 sections.
The dedication program was at 11:00 a.m. led by master of ceremony Gordon Baxter. U.S. Representative Jack Brooks and U.S. Congressman Charles Wilson along with Franklin Young, District Engineer, made addresses for the Texas Departments of Highways-Beaumont, Arnold W. Oliver, Engineer Directors of TX DOT-Austin and James D. Pitcock, president of Williams Brothers Construction Company of Houston.
The ribbon cutting was performed by Orange and Jefferson County WWI veterans Fulton Falkner, age 93; Calvin C. Grady, age 95; Lloyd W. Head, age 93; LeRoy Cole Younger Holcomb, age 88; Anderson S. Hurst, age 90; Domenick Mence, age 96; William R. Matzke, age 89; John Odom, age 94; Walter Toronjo, Sr. age 99 and Ellis VanConett, age 91.
The procession up the bridge included the Texas Air National Guard, Guard of the Republic of Texas, World War I Veterans, Golden Triangle Veterans, Orange and Jefferson County Commissioners and Mayors, Shriners Cycle Patrol, Sprindletop Car Club, Golden Triangle Antique Car Club, Southeast Texas Mustangs, Tri-City Corvette Club and Cajun Mustang Club.
The committee members for the dedication included co-chairmen Glenda Dyer and Charlotte Schexnider Chiasson; Neil Bond and Choc Lemmond, president of Bridge City Chamber of Commerce, tom Perry, Bridge City councilman, Walter Toronjo, Jr. and Jo Pruter, Orange County Historical Society, Lee Rogers, Groves Chamber of Commerce, Candy Smith, Vidor Chamber of Commerce, Pam Crew, Orange Chamber of Commerce and Texas Department of Highways, Betty Harmon, Orange Chamber of Commerce, Ron Arceneaux and Art Spencer, Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce, Wade Granger from Orangefield, Beth Rach, Rep. Ron Lewis’ assistant, Christy McClintock Loupe, who named the Rainbow Bridge in 1957, Bill Potter, resident engineer for TX DOT-Port Arthur and Frank James, resident engineer for TX DOT-Orange.
After the grand opening of the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge the Rainbow Bridge was closed for repairs. The official “first day” opening was not until October 15, 1991.
The new companion bridge was named Veteran’s Memorial Bridge even before it opened. Organizers of the new Veteran’s Memorial Park at the foot of the bridge on the Jefferson County side of the river requested the name Veteran’s Memorial Bridge. Jefferson and Orange County Commissioners Court approved the name.
Golden Triangle Memorial Park
The largest veterans monument in the area is the Golden Triangle Veterans Memorial Park. VFW Post 4820 in Port Neches maintains the park since 1988 when Butch Bean donated the 10.8 acres. The committee that maintains the park is made up of members of Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and Vietnam Veterans posts. It honors not only veterans who died in the line of duty, but also those who survived wartime or served during peacetime. The late W.T. Oliver, of Bridge City, was the first chairman until his death in January 1999 at the age of 73.
W.T. Oliver, Boss Cajun’s legacy was not his gumbo, but his generosity. A former State Representative serving Orange and Newton counties from 1956-1962, veterans’ advocate and board member of several local charities, Oliver’s contributions to Southeast Texas went far beyond the Veterans Memorial Park he established in 1992. Still, it is his most visible achievement. He operated a successful public relations and marketing firm. Oliver spent many years volunteering with the Hughen Center in Port Arthur, which serves disable children. He served for twelve years on the board of directors. He was know for his trade mark humor. He was asked once what the initials of his name stood for. His comment was “They stand for “want to”, “will try” or William Thomas, take your pick. But my wife, Ann’s, definition is “wishful thinking”.
The centerpiece of the park is the 50-foot tall tower of Honor, which carries the names of those killed or missing in action. Also housed in the tower is a plaque with names of Spanish-American War veterans and a plaque with the names of men who received the Purple Heart. There is a special plaque honoring Staff Sergeant Lucien Adams who won the Congressional Medal of Honor.
The park has eight Walls of Honor, one for World War I, two for World War II, one for the Korean War, one for the Vietnam War, one for Desert Storm, one for peace time and one for Merchant Marines from World War II. A 10-foot obelisk honor local residents who served in the 36th Infantry Division, made up entirely of Texans. The obelisk is adorned with bronze plaques listing the names of approximately 1,200 veterans from Orange and Jefferson counties, living and dead, who served in the division. The park also has monuments for the Air Force, a F-4D Phantom II fighter bomber; for the Army, a M6083 Tank; for the Navy, a landing craft and for the Marine Corps, a 7-foot bronze statue of a Marine going ashore while urging his troops forward. Also for the Coast Guard a Huey helicopter; for the Merchant Marines, an anchor from the SS Mississippi, the last World War II Merchant Marine ship to be decommissioned and for the Canine Corps, a soldier and his dog.
First Businesses
Bailey’s Fish Camp opened on July 4, 1921 at the end of Lake Street where the Dryden Ferry brought travelers to meet the mile long trussell to cross the Neches River. Henry and Mary Bailey built and operated one of the first businesses in the area with gas pumps. The business was a one-story building and operated as a fish camp that sold cold drinks and food cooked by Mary “Grandma” Bailey. The Dryden Ferry brought commuters to the refineries and businesses in Port Arthur. In 1933 a second story was added to the building housing a dance hall upstairs and continued operation until 1954. The dance hall closed after a shooting occurred. Son Fred Bailey later ran the business until his death in January 1994. The building burnt in 1996. No cause was determined but the building was vacant and had no electricity.
Rob Bailey’s Fish Camp was built in 1942. It is located at the very end of Lake Street where Sabine Lake, the Intracoastal Canal and The Neches River merge. Robert “Rob” Bailey ran the bait shop and boat launch until his death at 91 on January 26, 2000. His wife, Susan Young Bailey and family continue operation of the bait camp. There was another fish camp at the edge of The Neches River and the mile long trussell board road, which was operated by Walter Billeaud.
Prairie View began to grow with additional traffic from the bridge and with overcrowding of people working in the shipyards in Orange during World War II. Adequate housing was not available in Orange before the Riverside Navy base was built, so they came to live in Prairie View.
By late 1939 Highway 87 was a two-lane dirt road. At that time Prairie View had at least five milk dairies; Yellow Jacket Dairy on Turner Drive, Stapper Dairy on Stapper Street; St. Germaine Dairy and Racetrack on FM 408 (present-day Quail Valley Addition) and the old Turner diary farm on Morning Glory. In 1931 Dorothy Hebert’s family came from Port Acres to operate a 165-acre dairy farm at the “Old Turner Place” on Morning Glory Street. The large four-bed room home had four screened porches, a smoke house, outhouse and dairy barn. The dairy was adjacent to the St. Germaine property. The home burnt in November 1933. The family then rented a dairy barn and house across from the old Silver Slipper Nite Club on Lake Street but later sold their 100 head of cattle and moved to Orangefield.
The fifth milk dairy was on Inez Street and FM 408 and owned by John Harvey and Thelma Tallant. They had moved to the Prairie View area around 1919 when John Tallant came to work at American Bridge Shipyard during WWI. The dairy was in the Brunette Subdivision. The Tallants were charter members of St. Paul Methodist Church in 1944. Tallant left American Bridge is run the dairy full time which is last job being a custodian at Hatton Elementary School. Their children were Laura Mae, Willie and James Tallant. Mr. Tallant was originally from Pelham, New Hampshire and Mrs. Tallant from Wiggins, Mississippi.
Griffin’s Bait Camp was located on Cow Bayou at E. Roundbunch at Deviller’s Boat Launch, present day Bridge City Bait and Marina. In 1944 Volney (Bill) L. Ross opened a Texaco gas station and Ross’ Auto Supply near 2250 Texas Avenue (Sonic Drive In). He and his wife, Mary Alice, had moved to Bridge City from Port Arthur with their four children, Julie Ann, Volney Ross, III, Mary Alice and Kathryn Janie. They operated the auto supply and gas station which later became a Sinclair Station until 1953 when they lost their land in 1955 after a business speculator sold stock to several residents to build a new hospital on their land on Texas Avenue which never materialized and the speculator left town with the all the funds and the stock was worthless.
The community’s first fast food drive-in was Tenney’s Drive-In at 2335 Texas Avenue that opened in the late 1940’s. The community’s first ice cream parlor was Dairy Freeze built in 1950 and located on the corner of N. John and Texas Avenue. The business was short lived. The Dip-O Drive-In began operation in 1952 by Leona & Hurbert (Hub) Eastman.
The community had a horse race track (near FM 408), a slaughterhouse, and a cold storage locker plant, boat building shop and several grocery stores. Dr. Phelps from Port Arthur, owned a 90-acre chicken farm at the edge of town across from B.O’s Sparkle Club. Local citizens had to buy supplies either in Orangefield or Port Arthur because of few local businesses.
Other first businesses in Prairie View were Sonnier’s Grocery Store (present location of Roundbunch Plaza) and Midway Motel (still in existence). Clay Dunn built the Midway Motel in 1945. He torn down some government buildings and used lumber from them build the motel and Midway Liquor Store, which was the first package store south of Cow Bayou. The Silver Slipper Nite Club Dancing and Floor Show was on Lake Street and built in 1928 also by Clay Dunn and had several owners before closing in 1977. It was one of the first clubs in Orange County and known for its good dance floor. Later B.O.’s Sparkle Club was built at the edge of Twin Lakes on Highway 87.
In the mid 1940s C.J. Hulin had a grocery store, barber shop and icehouse was located on Texas Avenue near Ferry Drive. Citizens would rent freezer locker space from his grocery and from Baker’s Grocery. Hulin was the grandfather of Freddy Lee and June Land of Bridge City.
Baker’s Grocery was at the corner of Texas Avenue & Ferry Drive. The grocery had the community’s second telephone installed. J.R. Baker opened the grocery-general merchandise store in 1940. In 1953 he sold it to E.E. Saxon and Fred Hanscom but continued to be called Baker’s Grocery. Other businesses were Dell’s Dry Goods, Lawson Garage, Lovett’s Grocery and Market, J-J Ranch House and Whitehead’s Bait Shop.
Joe Bailey’s Fish Camp and Dance Hall opened in 1942 two years after the Cow Bayou Bridge was built. Joe and Evelyn Bailey owned it. Joe Bailey was the son of Henry & Mary Bailey, who owned a restaurant/fish camp at the end of Lake Street. The original building was just a small building with a porch all the way around and was later named Joe Bailey’s Fish Camp. It had ten pool tables. Joe Bailey’s Fish Camp and Dance Hall was host to ski shows on Sunday afternoons during the 1950s. The Bridge City Ski Club installed a ski ramp in the bayou in front of the fish camp. The youngest bare foot skier in the country at that time, Jack Watson, 11-year-old son of Dr. Victor D. Watson, skied in the club in Bridge City as well as at Cypress Gardens, Florida. He performed with Miss America of 1958, Mary Ann Mobley.
About 1954 Joe Bailey’s had a boat shed with 15 boats he rented and berth by the month or year. Nora Lonadier ran the boat launch and Elrod LeBlanc ran the storage shed. It is said that Elrod LeBlanc baited her cane pole every night before she went to bed and placed it in the boat shed. Almost every morning she had a catfish on the pole. James Philen and James Talent who worked for “Coon” Vincent dredged the slip for the boat shed. He owned the shell yard on the north side of Cow Bayou, which was later, sold to Alvin Keown. By 1960 it had become a restaurant and club run by Rickey Etheridge. Joe Bailey’s Fish Camp burnt to the ground about 2:00 a.m. December 18, 1970. Volunteer firemen from Bridge City, W. Orange and Pinehurst battled the blaze in vain.
Joe Bailey also owned the Bridge City Grocery & Market built in the early 1950s. It burnt down about 1952 and was rebuilt in 1953. Louis and Nora Lonadier lived in the upstairs portion of the store. Evelyn Bailey managed the store with Jessie Cotton and Melba Philen as one of the first employees.
Other businesses included Model Grocery owned by Howard Morris and Martin Barber Shop where Texas A&M University head coach R.C. Slocum worked as a shoeshine boy while in first and second grade. Also Caldwell Lumber, Castle’s Barber Shop and Dick and Bernice Hebert’s Gulf Station, which was the first Gulf Oil gasoline station in town. It was on the corner of John and Texas Avenue. The station was purchased in the mid-1940s and changed name to Brown’s Service Station.
Other businesses were Segona’s Dry Goods, Hebert’s Store, Tiny Diner, Guidry’s Texaco Station and the French View Cafe’.
The community’s only picture/movie show was the Bridge Theater was built in 1950 and owned by Walter Billeau. Children received free Saturday morning kiddy show tickets when their parents bought groceries at a local food market. By the late 1960’s the theater had ceased showing movies and was Bendy’s Dance Land. The last vendor in the building was local golden gloves amateur boxing matches. The theater closed in 1970 and was torn down by Market Basket Grocery to make way for their expansion.
Hopper Drug Store was built prior to 1954 but did not have a full time druggist. A pharmacist from Orange would fill prescriptions. Herman Hopper ran the drug store. It had a soda fountain and sold a variety of items. Lormand Drug Store bought out Hopper Drugs then Cliff Hopper bought out the drug store and started Hopper Lumber.
Nick’s Drugstore was owned by Milford Q. (Nick) Nichols, who was the first full time druggist in Bridge City. It opened in 1954. He later added Nick’s Variety Five and Dime. His son Wilbur Nichols now operates the drug store.
Other early businesses included the Buccaneer Cafe’, Twiddle’s Feed Store and Linder’s Texaco. In 1949 the first beer license was issued to Henry Daenen so he could to operate Daenen Bar-B-Que at the corner of Kibbe Street and Texas Avenue. The drive-in had carhops to serve customers.
Jackson Feed Store was owned by Lois and Robert M. Jackson and was located on the north side of the bridge over Cow Bayou in September 1948. They stocked feed, seed and hardware selling to area residents for twenty years until the property was sold so that a taller bayou bridge could be constructed. There were only about four businesses in the community at that time. The Jacksons owned several horses and cattle. Most community events were centered on doing something with horses. The were charter members of Second Baptist Church.
In the early 1940s Edna Hollander Young opened the Wayside Inn that was a well-known family-style restaurant. It served homemade fried chicken, biscuits, rolls, pies, French fries and onion rings. Her husband had a stoke and she began cooking dinners on Sunday and serving them in her home. As the business grew, they added rooms to the home. The restaurant was never an “all-you-can-eat” place though no one ever knew it. With six pieces of chicken per adult, along with piles of biscuits, fries, onion rings and salad, everyone ate all they could. In the 1950’s fried shrimp was added to the platter service menu. Everything was made from scratch. On holidays people had to stand in line for more than an hour waiting for a table. By the mid 1970s the restaurant was sold.
One of the oldest continual businesses is Dupuis Service Station, originally called Dupuis Brothers Service Station. The service station was built in 1945 by Earl Dupuis and his brother Paul Dupuis, Sr. They sold Gulf Oil Company gasoline. The business was first located on the north corner of Dupuis Street then moved to the south corner in 1954. The second oldest continual business is the Midway Motel presently called the Budget Inn.
The first local newspaper was The Bi-City Banner begun in June 1952 serving the community of 6,000 people and cost 5 cents. Rocky Stone was the editor. The Lionel Hebert family ran it with son Jimmy. The Heberts were the second owners. In 1959 the Bi-City Banner was sold to the Orange County Publishing Company, Merle Lucker, of Vidor. They also printed The Vidorian. It was published every Thursday. Ann Lieby was the local reporter. Some of the ads of an October 1, 1959 publication showed Howard’s Food Store will sales of roosters for 25 cents per pound, Admiration coffee for 59 cents a pound and first cut pork chops for 49 cents per pound. An ad for Joe Bailey’s Fish Camp on Cow Bayou advertised the Rhythm Rockers dance. Other ads included Old Colonial Donuts, formerly Southern Maid Donuts at 2095 Texas Avenue, Robert’s Hardware, Bridge City Cleaners, M&M TV Shop next to Shorty’s Barber Shop and the prison rodeo in Huntsville starring in person James Arness, Johnny Cash, Dale Robertson, Tommy Sands, Steve McQueen and Johnny Horton.
The Penny Record began publication in 1959. It was owned and operated by Walter and Audrey Gaston. They continued the business for 29 years and in 1988 sold to Dr. Mark Messer. The first paper route in Bridge City was delivered by Bill Collins. He delivered the Port Arthur News.
Burger Town was opened in 1958 by M.E. Williams and was bought by Fred and Joyce Viator in 1971. Plunk’s Photography Studio opened in 1945 and continued until 1990. Jack and Virginia Plunk continued to take photographs in their home after retiring until Jack Plunk died in June, 1996. In 1959 the city had its first cleaning business, Bridge City Cleaners owned by Jimmy and Anne Segura.
The first doctor to practice in Bridge City was Dr. Grover Stukey in 1953. His office was open only three days a week and was located near Hopper Lumber Co. The first full time doctor was Dr. Jack Barnett. He began practicing in the same location as Dr. Stukey. Dr. Barnett practiced medicine from 1954 until 1986. The first part-time dentist, Dr. Benny Fontana, began practice in 1957. The first full-time dentist was Dr. Joe Majors. He began practice in 1959 and continued through 1990. Originally Dr. Jack Barnett and Dr. Joe Majors shared the same office until it burnt, and then they rebuilt separate offices.
In October 1959 a six & ½ mile rail spur was announced by Gulf States Utilities Company. The spur was to be used to deliver material for the construction of the power station. It started at the Southern Pacific mail line at a switch known as Bobsher Station, (named after Robert W. Sherwood the Gulf States engineering manager, then followed a new GSU high voltage transmission line to FM 105 then onto the proposed site of the new power plant. The land for the power plant, some 645 acres, was purchased from Mr. And Mrs. H.J. Lutcher Stark and The Lutcher Moore Lumber Company
On May 11, 1962 Gulf States Utilities Company dedicated its sixth power station near Bridge City. The plant was built by Stone & Webster. The need for the new power station was evident with the growth of the heavily and diversified industrialized cities of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange. Initially installed with a generating capacity of 440,000 kilowatts, the plant was designed for expansion to over two million kilowatts. It served a 28,000 square mile area of Texas and Louisiana, stretching eastward about 350 miles from west of Navasota to east of Baton Rouge.
Civic Groups
Civil Defense & Fire Department
The volunteer fire department was organized in 1951 as a unit of the civil defense unit, although it also served the town in peacetime. John Robert Saint and Archie Calhoun were the organizers and the first two members. The Bridge City Civil Defense Unit conducted an air raid practice (A-bomb attack) on September 23, 1951. It was one of the first in the entire country to conduct an air raid practice in which the whole town participated, drawing nation-wide publicity. Each department head was fully trained. There was also an auxiliary police unit headed by J.W. Hamilton. The first aid rescue unit was headed by Jim Bays. The identification and blood type units were headed by Ted Burke. Archie Calhoun was the first fire chief. The first fire truck was a scrapped 1929 Chevrolet Fire Truck previously used by the Pure Oil Company of Port Neches and donated to the department by Port Arthur businessperson Harry Rosen.
Others volunteers soon joined and in the beginning there were 31 members. In the early 1950s the group met the second and fourth Monday of each month at the fire station that was located on Highway 87 next to Nolton Brown’s Service Station and the post office. By April, 1952 a formal election was held to appoint officers, write a constitution and by-laws. In early 1954 land was purchased for $1,000 from Robert L. Kibbe, Sr. where volunteer firefighters built a station. In 1966 the Bridge City Volunteer Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary was organized. In April, 1977 a sub-station was built on FM 408 at Bessie Heights Road. By 1981 a 12,150 square foot 10-bay central fire station was dedicated on Bland Street. Construction is expected to begin on a new substation on FM 1442 near Bessie Heights Road.
Fire chiefs since 1953 include: 1953-1958 Archie Calhoun; 1959 Loris Vice; 1960-1968 Archie Calhoun; 1969 Doyce Sherman; 1970 Ray Spiller; 1971-1975 Jerry Pesson; 1976-1980 Richard Solomon; 1981-1983 Jerry Pesson; 1984-1986 Paul Fournier; 1987 Larry Callahan; 1988 Jim Gillespie; 1989 Larry Callahan; 1990-1991 Jim Gillespie; 1992-1994 Larry Callahan; 1995 Carroll LeBlanc; 1996 Larry Callahan, Carroll LeBlanc and Ray Welch; 1997-1998 Larry Callahan; 1999-2000 Ross Guilhas; 2001-Present Scott Barnes.
Lions Club
The Orange Lions Club organized the Bridge City Lions Club on December 13, 1945. James R. Baker was the first president. Some of the first officers were James B. Scales, Sr., Roy Hatton, first vice president, Felix Burke, second vice president, John Saint, third vice president, Carl J. McKusker, secretary, H.G. Hintchey, treasurer, Jack Baker, Lion Tamer and Guy Toups, Tail Twister. The Lions Club served as the forerunner of the Chamber of Commerce.
One of their first duties was to organize a water district. Private wells and septic tanks were used in the community. In the summer of 1952 a committee looked into the possibility of creating a water and sewage system. Austin Floyd was the chairman. They estimated $450,000 would cover the cost of one large well, pumps, an elevated storage tank, water and sewer lines to the homes and a sewage disposal plant. In about 1954 a water district was organized.
The Lions Club was responsible for requesting signal lights and safety markers on the highway through the town. They also sponsored an amendment to a state law so that penning of stock could be enforced in Bridge City as well as numerous other civic improvements. They also began in 1943 to take steps to obtain a post office for the community.
Knights of Columbus
Reverend H.J. Vincent of St. Henry’s Catholic Church organized the Sacred Heart Council #3406 Knights of Columbus April 29, 1951. Officers were T.A. Walsh, Roy Loupe, Buford Comeaux, J.G. Edgerly, Lynn Breaux, Morris Guyote, Victor Matthews, Nolan Wiltz and John Simon. There were forty-two charter members and A.J. Lindstrom was the first grand knight. The Knights of Columbus marked their 50th anniversary on May 6, 2001 with a parish wide dinner at their new hall dedicated Saturday, March 10, 2001. They will honor L. O. (Sonny) Breaux and Gus Garza as 50-year charter members.
Bridge City Home Demonstration Club
The Bridge City Home Demonstration Club dates to the early spring of 1940 and was active in the community’s betterment. Ena Lovell, with the assistance of Agnes Roberts with the Orange County home demonstration agency, organized the club. Lela Howard was the first president. The group was made up of Mrs. Howard, Sally Pearl Howard, Sue Hilliard, Mrs. A.G. Steward and Mrs. C.T. Leslie. Also Mrs. Stanley Smith, Mrs. D.V. Werth, Winnie Lormand, Lillie Lehman, Della Mae Collins and Mrs. T. Provost.
A boy’s 4-H club was organized in 1935 by Mr. McKenzie with 47 members and Claude Blanchard served as president. Mrs. Dorothy Marsh organized a girls’ 4-H club in 1936. Dorothy Leach served as president with Joan Foster as vice president and May Dell King as secretary.
Parent-Teacher Association
Mrs. V.E. Phelps organized the first Parent Teacher Association on December 9, 1942. By 1953 the club had 158 members and four life members. They held an annual May Festival featuring colorful costumes, may pole dances, a gala program and crowing of the monarch and queen chosen from the student body.
Bridge City Masonic Lodge #1345
The Bridge City Masonic Lodge #1345 was chartered on December 2, 1954. The first officers were Worship Master Seth Harris, SW- Mr. W.H. Porterfield, SD- Melvin Menefee and JS- Mr. J.W. Cherry, JW-Mr. M.T. Snider; SS-Vern Pepper; T- Mr. F.L. Alford; JS-Jesse Rambo; S-Mr. C.D. Poston; T- Mr. W.P. Ellis and C-Jack Plunk. There were 71 charter members. The new building for the lodge was completed in January 1957.
United States Post Office
Beginning in 1848 the Unites States took over the postal service from the Republic of Texas and post offices sprang up in many parts of the county. By 1858 the city of Orange became the main post office for the county serving Prairie View on a rural route. In 1941 there were 12 mailboxes between Cow Bayou and Roundbunch, all on one post. One letter carrier in a private car brought mail from Orange. The area was regarded as Route 1, Orange, which was the first rural route in Orange County.
In 1943 the Lions Club took steps to get a post office. In July 1945 they were notified the post office was assured. On July 1, 1946 the community of Prairie View received a post office permit established as a fourth class post office and expanded to first class in 1968. The post office began in a 6 foot by 8-foot space in the back of Dick Hebert’s grocery store located on Texas Avenue near the intersection of Hwy. 87 (Texas Avenue) and N. John Street. The store also housed a Gulf Oil service station.
The first postmaster was Navy veteran James Burly (J.B.) Scales, Sr. He received his appointment signed by President Harry Truman on July 1, 1946. He and his sons built the first white stucco post office at 1065 Texas Avenue in the rear of the building that also housed Sigona’s Dry Goods. The postmaster owned the building. The building was torn down December 5, 2001. For the first three years beginning in 1946 Scales’ spouse was the only clerk for the post office. In 1949 he hired Doris Ketterman, the first employee outside his family, then Mrs. Wiemer McCroskey. At that time the post office was third class. Stamps cost three cents and post-cards one penny.
The postal service began home delivery in 1958. By 1962 bids were let to build a new post office at the intersection of Bland Extension and Texas Avenue. A modern 4,000 square foot building was erected and owned by C. W. Hubbard. The post office advanced from fourth class to first class by July 1, 1968. The post office moved to 1900 Texas Avenue and was dedicated March 7, 1964. A new facility at the intersection of S. John Street and Texas Avenue sits on 2 ½ acres. It opened in 1985 and cost $488,00, which was the lowest bid, and has 8,293 square feet more than twice the size of the former facility. The bid was awarded to Matrix Engineering, Inc. of Beaumont. In 1985 they served 3,574 residents. The postmasters since Scales include Nolton Brown from 1967-1970; Robert D. Bullard, 1970-1980; Johnny Stimac, 1980-1998; Charlene Goudeaux (the first woman postmaster), 1998-Present.
Churches
In 1893 a Baptist church was built but was attend by the entire community. Reverend Marion Stephenson was the first pastor. It was near Spring Gully, on a site across the road from the J.W. Cherry home. This church was destroyed in a 1915 hurricane.
With no local church residents had to attend church in Orange and West Orange. They began holding prayer meetings in homes. The majority of the group was Baptist. In 1940 a group of Baptists met at the Prairie View School to organize a Baptist church. The first community church was Blandale Baptist built July 11, 1940 in a former rice field at 200 W. Roundbunch. The church had purchased land from Mrs. R.L. Kibbe, Sr. whose maiden name was Bland. Church leaders and community members from other denominations helped built it. It had no indoor plumbing, no nursery and churchgoers cooled themselves with hand held paper fans donated by a funeral home. The church was remained Blandale Baptist for three years. From 1943-1948 it was called Bridge City Baptist Church. It was later renamed First Baptist of Bridge City in 1948. A new larger brick sanctuary was built in 1951. The exterior brick was repainted September 2003 and the shutters taken down.
The First Baptist Church had 27 charter members and the Rev. J.B. Perry (of Orangefield) was the first pastor. The first properties for the church was acquired from Mrs. Robert L. Bland Kibbe, Sr. The first organists were Mrs. Edith Ritter Turner and Mrs. Lillie Warren. The present sanctuary was built in 1953. H.D. Howard, Sr., L.B. Howard and Fred Perry were ordained as the first deacons selected by the church. Other deacons were C.S. Hollis, C.M. Lovell and G.A. Martin. By the mid 1950s the church began a mission that later became Second Baptist Church.
H.D. Howard, Sr. and Sally had moved to Prairie View from Port Arthur in January 1940 and by July they had helped to organize the church. Later they went as spiritual leaders to help organize the Second Baptist Church mission. About 1957 Harmony Baptist Church was built on Bland Street. The church was later named Second Baptist Church. In their death, the family gave what was left of their estate to establish the Liberty Baptist Church mission.
The education building for First Baptist Church was completed October 1959. H. Knox Clark finished the outside brickwork. At that time C.S. Miers was the pastor. W.D. Earles, a teacher at Bridge City High School, was elected youth director. On July 1, 1990 First Baptist Church celebrated their 50th anniversary with representatives from the city and chamber of commerce presenting proclamations at 9:00 a.m. with special morning worship services held at 10:45 a.m. An article in the local newspaper listed all the church members. The pastor was Dr. Charles Walton.
St. Paul Methodist Church began services in a tent on Texas Avenue @ W. Roundbunch in February 27 1943 with twelve persons present. By March 1944 membership was twenty-two. St. Paul’s was officially organized on Sunday, April 16, 1944 with 52 charter members. The following Sunday the church as officially named St. Paul’s Methodist Church. On May 27, 1944 the members purchased 2.9 acres from Mrs. R.L. Kibbe for $1,450.00. By 1944 the church had built a building with scrap lumber from the Old Terry Mission.
In 1944 the first pastor was Rev. W.W. Hawthorne, Sr. who was a lay minister from Port Arthur. By August, 1944 a permanent pastor and a church charter were obtained. Lumber from an old mission church in Terry, Texas was used to build the first parsonage. The first services in a new sanctuary was April 14, 1946. In 1952 a two-story education building was constructed. It was partially burned on Easter Sunday April 22, 1973. The congregation voted to tear the building down, rather than try to repair. A second sanctuary, A-frame structure on the corner of Bland St. and E. Roundbunch was built and completed on June 11, 1961. By 1971 the landmark first sanctuary was torn down. A new education building was built in 1975. On April 30, 1978 a new bell tower was constructed to house the old church bell. By 1979 a new parsonage at 168 Fernwood was dedicated for the pastor, Reverend Preston Dumas, and family. In April, 1994 the church celebrated its fifth anniversary.
In the mid-1930s those of the Catholic faith had to attend mass in an abandoned grocery store on the banks of Cow Bayou in the Oilla Community. After the church burnt the parishioners began to attend service in the old Orangefield High School gym until St. Helen Catholic Church was dedicated on September 8, 1938. With the discovery of oil in the area1921, the farming community along Cow Bayou turned into a bustling oil-boom town reaching a population of 5,000. The oil field community was renamed Orangefield in the mid 1920s by Thomas (Tick) R. Granger, Sr.
On Thanksgiving, 1946 St. Henry Catholic Mission was dedicated on N. John Street. The priest was Joe Berberich. The church had 40 families and 200 parishioners and the church was a mission from 1946 until 1948. The parish was established in 1948 with Reverend T.T. Cronin as the first priest. Father H.J. Vincent dedicated the second sanctuary April 18, 1963 with 560 families and 2,460 parishioners. The church celebrated its 50th anniversary on November 24, 1996.
The history of the Catholic faith in the area now served by Saint Henry Church dates back many years. In fact, it goes back to before the Civil War, when a group of Catholic farmers, mostly Acadians, settled along Cow Bayou. In those years, missionaries from various other places such as Liberty, Beaumont, and even Houston, visited these scattered families and ministered to them. Eventually a small frame church was built in the Oilla Community, about a mile and a half northwest of the present Orangefield, along the line of the then newly laid Southern Pacific Railroad. This little church served for quite a number of years, but it burned to the ground in the early 1900's and was never rebuilt. With the discovery of the Orange oil field in 1921, the farming community along Cow Bayou turned into a bustling oil-boom town, reaching a population of approximately 5,000 persons. There were large numbers of Catholics, but there was no church. People had to travel the often-muddy nine-mile road to Orange to attend Mass at St. Mary Church.
In 1937, Father Joseph O. Berberich came to Orange to serve as Assistant Pastor under his brother, Father George Berberich. Filled with missionary zeal, Father Joe began looking for a way to say Mass for the Catholics of the "oil field" and eventually found a shed, which could be used for that purpose. Finding a sizable number of practicing Catholics, he appealed to His Excellency, Most Rev. Christopher E. Byrne, then Bishop of Galveston, for help in providing a church for these people. The Bishop forwarded the appeal to the Extension Society of Chicago, and they were able to find a donor, who put up enough cash to enable Father Joe to build. And so, in 1938, Saint Helen Church was dedicated in Orangefield.
As yet there was no town where Bridge City stands today only a few homes scattered over the prairie. The new Highway 87 and the Rainbow Bridge were opened on Labor Day, 1938. With the outbreak of World War II, more and more people moved to Orange County from Port Arthur, and here they could raise food, which they found hard to purchase on the wartime market. "Victory Gardens" is a souvenir of these times. Little by little a community developed between the Rainbow Bridge and Cow Bayou, and in 1946, the building of the original Saint Henry Church was undertaken by Father Joe the third mission church built by him in Orange County. With the building of the church, his labors among the people of Bridge City were coming to a close, because in May 1948, Bishop Byrne sent in the first resident pastor, Father Timothy Cronin. The congregation, which had numbered approximately 40 families at the time of the building of the church, had grown to more that 100 families. Saint Helen, Orangefield, was attached as a mission. Under Father Cronin, the rectory and a small parish hall was built. By the time Father Cronin was transferred to Sacred Heart Church, Conroe, in January 1951, the parish had grown to almost 200 families. Father Herman J. Vincent was appointed to succeed Father Cronin.
There was a large growth of Saint Henry Parish during the years 1952 to 1957. As a result of the influx of people from Port Arthur, Orange, south Louisiana and other areas, the parish grew from less that 200 families to nearly 700 families. During the years of crowded conditions, the parish benefited from the generosity of Msgr. H. A. Drouilhet of Saint Mary Church, Port Arthur, who personally at first, and later through his assistant pastors, provided Masses for the congregation.
The church facilities, which had seemed so large when built, became too small for the burgeoning congregation. The parish hall was converted into a kitchen in early 1952. The rectory was enlarged in 1960. Finally, a new church was constructed in the winter-spring of 1963-64, at a cost of $154,000.00, with a seating capacity of 800 people. The new Saint Henry rectory was built in 1968.
Father Joseph Dazio succeeded Father Herman Vincent as Pastor of Saint Henry Parish on July 11, 1969. Father Frank Schanzer was appointed Pastor on August 22, 1970. During his administration, ground breaking for the new parish hall with classrooms was held on August 7, 1977. On May 20, 1978, the hall was formally dedicated and named Schanzer Hall.
Following Father Schanzer's tenure, Father Patrick Hickey was named pastor of Saint Henry. Father Hickey, with the help of Julius Benton serving as the contractor, Glynn L. Harris as the architect, and the parishioners of Saint Henry parish serving as workers, very beautifully and tastefully enlarged and renovated Saint Henry Church.
Since its establishment in 1948, Saint Henry Parish has been under the jurisdiction of three dioceses: Galveston Diocese, Bishop C. E. Byrne; Galveston-Houston Diocese, Bishops Wendelin J. Nold and John L. Morkovsky; and Beaumont Diocese, Bishops Vincent M. Harris, Warren Boudreaux, Bernard J. Ganter, Joseph Galante and Bishop Curtis Guillory, our present bishop. After Father Joseph Berberich founded St. Henry, there have been eight pastors: Fathers Tim Cronin, Herman Vincent, Joseph Dazio, Frank Schanzer, Patrick Hickey, Ronald Bollich, Nolan Gouthier and our current pastor, Father Jim McClintock.
Chamber of Commerce & City Information
About 1954 community leaders tried to organize a chamber of commerce. There were 21 charter members who paid $5 dues each. Austin Floyd was the first chairman of the Bridge City group. J.B. Scales, Sr. was acting secretary. The committee was inactive for a while until 1956. Reorganization was expected to benefit the move to obtain a bank for Bridge City although an active chamber was not mandatory before a charter could be obtained for a bank. By a “show of hands” at a meeting on April 11, 1957 the Bridge City Chamber of Commerce was reorganized. With the business community growing, by 1959 the Bridge City Chamber of Commerce began to function. The chamber was active in business and community development looking forward to the city’s incorporation. The first chamber of commerce president was Jay Eshbach. He and his spouse, Dot, owned The Kitty Kottage and worked out of their home on Kibbe Street.
The first chamber board of directors met on February 6, 1959 in the Bridge City High School cafeteria. Dues were set at $36.00 per year for the first 33 members and board meetings were set on the third Monday of each month. Eshbach served as president and Bryan Forney, vice president; M.Q. (Nick) Nichols was elected 2nd vice president, Marjorie Fields, secretary and Kelly Littlepage, Nolton Brown and Joe Schumacher were directors. One of the first items of business for the newly formed chamber was to formulate a countywide road and drainage district. Other early issues were dealing with the threat of annexation and whether or not the city should incorporate.
By the fourth Chamber meeting in 1959 the membership had grown to 78. The chamber had adopted a slogan “Bridge City is the Hub of the Golden Triangle." The Bridge City Chamber of Commerce incorporated July 16, 1972.
Businesses listed in the first business directory printed by the Chamber of Commerce in 1960 were:
East Texas Neon & Gulf Termite Co. A.P. DeRoche Air Conditioning Little Refrigeration Service L.J. Riley Sale & Service Lawson’s Automotive Supply Earl’s Body Shop Bridge City Barber Shop LeBlanc Barber Shop Maund Barber Shop Modern Barber Shop Agnes Cayten Beauty Shop #2 Bernice’s Beauty Shop Clara’s Beauty Shop Kay’s Beauty Shop Moreau’s Beauty Shop Sunny Side Beauty Shop Valerie’s Beauty Shop J.P. LeBlanc Bookkeeping & Tax Service Jess R. Thames Bookkeeping & Tax Service Adair’s Lumber Supply Austin Floyd Building Supplies Caldwell Lumber Co. Edgerly’s Building Supply Field’s Lumber Co. Hopper’s Lumber & Supply Co. Hillcrest Memorial Gardens Kiddie Kottage & Gift Shop Assembly of God Church Bible Missionary Church BMA Church Bridge City Baptist Church Bridge City Christian Church Calvary Baptist Church Church of Christ Full Gospel Church Harmony Baptist Church Lutheran Church Nazarene Church St. Henry Catholic Church St. Paul’s Methodist Church Winfree Baptist Church Bridge City Cleaners B.O. Sparkle’s Club W.L. Cayten Building Contractor H.K. Clark Building Contractor Forney Construction Co. H.R. Bean Cement Contractor J.H. Meehan Cement Contractor Rodd R. Roberts Electric Contractor Keown Construction & Supply Co. Vincent Contracting Co. Justice of the Peace Pct. #3 J.H. Toups Retail Merchants Association Credit Bureau Oak Farms Dairies Benny Fontana, Dentist Joe Majors, Dentist Allen’s Department Store, Inc. Old Colonial Donuts King’s Pharmacy Nick’s Pharmacy Stevenson’s Home Supply Electrical Supplies Bee Bee’s Fabric Shop Jackson Feed Store Tweedel Feed & Supply Gulf Coast Fence Co. T & T Fence Co. Fred Bailey’s Fish Camp Joe Bailey’s Fish Camp Rob Bailey’s Fish Camp LeBlanc Fish Camp Wayside Florist White’s Florist Castellaw’s Garage Ross’ Garage Whiteside Garage Winton Automatic Gas Co. Cardinal Drive Inn Grocery Carter Food Store Howard’s Food Store Orangefield Grocery & Market Pic-em Pac-um Reddin’s Grocery Sak-N-Pack S&W Grocery Texas Avenue Grocery & Market Robert’s Hardware & Sporting Goods Bridge City Insurance Agency Lieby Insurance Agency Schumacher Insurance Agency Jackson’s Junk & Wrecking Town & Country Dress Shop Midway Package Store Prince Package Liquors Hudson’s Machine Shop & Auto Repair Crumpler’s Machine Shop & Welding Service Ace Trailer Sale Martin’s Trailer Court Rainbow Trailer Courts Rose’s Park & Apartments Shady Drive Trailer Courts Town & Country Trailer Courts Midway Motel Bi City Banner Newspaper Gifford’s Nursery Plunk’s Studio J.E. Barnett, D.O. Victor D. Watson, MD David Campbell Piano Repairs Roy Crim Plowing and Disking Roy Hatton Plowing and Disking G. A. (Ham) Laughlin Plumber Rapasky’s Plumbing Better Homes Realty N.A. Dugas Realty D.C. (Kelly) Littlepage Real Estate C.G. Parker Realty Pulliam & Forse Real Estate Buccaneer Cafe Dip-O Drive Inn French view Cafe Hardy’s Cafe Orangefield Skating Rink & Cafe Ranch House Cafe Tenney’s Drive Inn Tiny Diny Drive Inn Wayside Inn Bridge City High School Orangefield High School Brown’s Gulf Service Station Dupuis Gulf Service Station Elam’s Service Station G&W Service Station Guidry’s Texaco Station Head’s Sinclair Station Linder’s Texaco Station Webb’s Texaco Station Well’s Service Station Harms Shell Co., Inc. Keown Supply Shell Co. Ada’s Shoe Store Southwestern Bell Telephone Exchange Harvey Brothers TV Repair McCroskey’s TV Repair McKenzie’s TV Repair M&M TV Shop Land’s Upholstery Shop Wallace Upholstery Shop Gulf States Utilities Co. United Gas Company E-Z Washateria Laundromat W.M. Bell Welding Service E.C. Reynolds Welding Underwood’s Welding Shop
Past presidents of the Bridge City Chamber of Commerce include:
Jay Eshbach 1959 M.Q. (Nick) Nichols 1960 Bob Edgerly 1961 B. J. Fields 1962 John Saint 1963 J. B. Scales 1964 Howard Morse 1965 Nolton Brown 1966 A. A. (Jimmy) Segura 1967 Fred Gregory 1968 C.W.(Bubba)Hubbard 1969 H. D. Pate 1970 Don Cole 1971 Mrs. B. J.Fields 1972 Jerry Meeks 1973 Jimmie D. Hanson 1974 Dr. David Olson 1975 Tim Lieby 1976 Dr. Mark Messer 1977 J.R. Wilson 1978 Bill Nickum 1979 Dr. Albert Pugh 1980 Cecil R. Brown, Sr. 1981 Jerry Davidson 1982 Tom B. Perry, Sr. 1983 C.R. Nash 1984 C.R. Nash 1985 Pat Lancaster 1986 Neil Bond 1987 Jimmy Smith 1988 John Scales 1989 Choc Lemmond 1990 Jeff Anderson 1991 Christy Scales Gonzales 1992 Marti Eveleigh 1993 Charlie Waldron 1994 Christy Scales Gonzales 1995 Dr. Fred Zoch 1996 Thad Angelle 1997 Kirk Ellender 1998 Marialeice Saucier 1999 Harold Trantham 2000 Beverly Perry 2001 Don Fields 2002 Lou Raburn 2003 Jim Larkin 2004
In the late 1940s Bonnie Jean Bland of Bridge City was crowned Miss Texas. She was the daughter of Henry Bland who lived on FM 408.
The chamber and city jointly adopted a new slogan “The Home of Friendly People on the Grow” in 1970. By 1995 both the chamber and city adopted another updated slogan “Bridge City... Building Bridges Together" after a suggestion by Ralph McBride, a chamber director, was made and agreed upon at a chamber of commerce board meeting.
Beginning in 1970 the Chamber of Commerce began selecting a citizen of the year. They are:
C. W. (Bubba) Hubbard 1970 Albert Gore 1971 Glenn Pearson 1972 Gus Garza 1973 Preston (Red)Wood 1974 George Besse 1975 Bobby Smitherman 1976 Don Burgess & HD Pate 1977 Judy Wyatt 1978 C.R. Nash 1979 Don Cole 1980 Annette Barber 1981 B.C. Volunteer Fire Dept. 1982 Shannon Messer 1983 Randy Arnaud 1984 Tom B. Perry, Sr. 1985 Neil Bond 1986 BCISD Trustees 1987 Jimmy Smith 1988 City of Bridge City Beautification Committee 1989 Johnny Scales 1990 Constable John Ford 1991 Dr. Albert Pugh 1992 Jeanne Blacksher 1993 Rev. Terry Wright 1994 Beverly Perry 1995 William Smith 1996 Terry Stuebing 1997 Charlie Waldron 1998 Dr. & Marla Zoch 1999 Bill Nickum 2000 Lou Raburn 2001 Marialeice Saucier 2002
On July 22, 1961 Bridge City voters defeated a proposal for incorporation. There were 278 votes cast “for corporation” and 357 cast for “no corporation”. Julian Sartin was the presiding election judge. Leaders tried again on October 28, 1961 with a total of 837 votes cast. Votes cast “for the corporation” were 296 and 541 votes were cast for “no corporation”. The special election failed a second time. The presiding election judge was John R. Long.
On June 5, 1970 Orange County Commissioners Court was petitioned to call another election for the incorporation of Bridge City. There were 1,123 votes cast. Some 677 voted “for the incorporation” and 446 voted “against”. The election on July 7, 1970 carried and Bridge City became a general law city. The new city’s order for incorporated was signed by Orange County Judge Charlie G. Grooms on July 13, 1970. In 1974 the city received its charter and it was adopted by the people. The city has six council members and a mayor. Before the city incorporated, the county maintained all the roads with a constable and sheriff handling law enforcement. When the city incorporated the population was 6,258.
The first mayor was Preston M. (Red) Woods. Co-chairing the committee for incorporation in 1970 was Albert Gore and C.W. (Bubba) Hubbard. The first city attorney was H.D. Pate. The first council was made up of Woods, Charles English, E.T. Earnest, Don Clayton and Jack Pepper. Pat Brandon was the first city secretary and Bill McClure was the first city manager. Bill Kiihnl was the city’s first fire Marshall and Jim Custer was the first chief of police. The first city judge was Guy Rascoe.
The following were justices of the peace for precinct #3 beginning in 1886. In the beginning they served two year terms then began serving four-year terms.
1886-1907 R.C. Gravett 1908 J. W. Turner 1910 R. C. Gravett 1912 No election 1914 Lon Garison 1916 Walter Turner 1918-1921 J. W. Turner 1922-1929 Lon Garison 1930 Claud Webb 1932-1945 Lon Garison 1946 J. R. Denney 1948-1957 S. G. Slagle 1958-1963 J. G. (Guy) Toups 1964-1969 R.W(Dick)Anders 1970-1981 Martin Ardoin 1981-2002 Flo Edgerly 2002- Janice Menard
The following were constables for Orange County Precinct #3.
1886-1893 Jeff Turner 1894-1905 J. O. Myers 1906 J. S. Gallier 1908 Cliff Chesson 1910 Johnson Thomas 1912 Lon Garison 1914 John Chesson 1916 Will Wallace 1918 Cliff Chesson 1920 P. L. Bland 1922-1925 Joe Granger 1926 Ed Hollis 1928-1933 J. Walter Burgess 1934-1937 Ernest Wallace 1938 Ivy Norwood 1940-1967 Allen (Buck) Pattillo 1968-1971 Louis O.Ford,Jr. 1972-Present(2004) John A. Ford, Sr.
The city is surrounded by waterways and took its name from the many bridges around its perimeter. In the early to mid-1950 the US Corps of Engineers decided to dredge Cow Bayou from its snake-like form to a straight path to prevent flooding. The Bessie Heights March is located just 3-4 miles north of town along the Neches River. Much of the march has submerged leaving a wide-open water area. Several events contributed to the current degraded condition of the marsh. The Neches River was dredged to twice its original depth near the turn of the center and the dredge material was deposited along the north banks of the river (Bridge City side). The deeper channel allowed saltier water to intrude further up the river and freshwater flooding events rarely occur and thus sediment and nutrient supply are insufficient to maintain the marsh. Approximately 5,125 acres of wetland in the marsh have been converted to open water. In 1998 the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department received a grant form the US Environmental Protection Agency to develop an interagency restoration plan for the Bessie Heights March.
In the late 1950s Stone and Webster built a large electrical power plant for Gulf States Utilities and gave the area its first large business.
Bridge City was the only city in Orange County to show growth in population in the 1990 US census. Orange County is one of 254 counties in the state of Texas. With goals firmly set for the future and possessing a positive outlook, the city is considered by some as the “Golden Link To The Triangle." The area of Jefferson and Orange County is called “The Golden Triangle” for various reasons including: Some believe that it began with Spindletop, and how the oil boom fueled the economy in the whole region of Beaumont, Port Arthur & Orange. Another suggestion is because of the ports at each of the cities. According to the Texas Historical Commission web site, the region got the name from the proliferation of refineries in the three cities. The refineries used yellow lights, and at night, all you could see was the golden glow of them.
On March 1, 1963 the Texas Highway Department began pouring concrete on the new 4-lane Highway 87 through the center of town. In 1990 the Texas Highway Department installed “leaning” streetlights on Texas Avenue to accommodate the tall electrical lines along the roadway. The lights are the first of their kind in the state of Texas. In September 2003 the highway department installed the third red light on Texas Avenue at the corner of Osborne Street.
Because of its location surrounded by the area’s waterways, Bridge City is a natural spot for every kind of water sport. Boating, fishing (fresh and saltwater), water skiing and bird watching are some of the many activities to enjoy. One should pay a visit to the Rob Bailey’s Fish Camp at the end of Lake Street to catch one of the glorious sunsets over Sabine Lake and the Intracoastal Canal. Each year the Monarch butterfly stops at Rob Bailey’s Fish Camp in October or November for their last stop before crossing the Gulf of Mexico to their winter home in Mexico. There are two designated stops for “birders” along Lake Street including a nature boardwalk built by Texas Parks and Wildlife in 1996 and the entire Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area, Neches River Unit.
Each year the Chamber of Commerce host an annual parade near Thanksgiving and an annual baby and jr. miss beauty pageant.
In the spring of 1993, the Bridge City Chamber of Commerce planted 100 varieties of hawthorns next to the Chamber office at 150 W. Roundbunch. The Mayhaw Arboretum was planted with several projects in mind. Some include making jelly, research for the use of various parts of the plant, including the bark; extraction from roots and substitutions for spices such as cinnamon; also for the medicinal aspects and foodstuff.
Bridge City Public Library
In March 1991 the city opened its first public library located at 101 Parkside Drive. The Friends of the Bridge City Public Library led the push for a public library. The original Library Action Committee consisted of Betty Johnston, Charlotte Chiasson, Cathy Walters and Lucille Armentor. The library is open to all Orange County residents free of charge.
The Friends of the Bridge City Public Library began as a support committee in March 1988 when twenty concerned citizens addressed the needs of the community to establish the city’s first public library. The response from the public was tremendous. So many books were received that a local portable building company donated a large building for temporary storage. The Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors hosted a softball tournament and b-b-que and volunteers held many book and bake sales. By August 1988 the city had appointed a board of trustees and a non-binding referendum passed showing support for a new public library.
The Friends worked for two years prior to the completion of the structure by receiving donations of thousands of books which were cleaned, sorted and made ready for the library’s grand opening March 17, 1991. Volunteers set up a make-shift library in a former dance studio then assisted with many man hours of labor to build the interior of the structure, raised funds to purchase shelving, equipment, new books and fixtures. The first funds from the city were for the slab and shell exterior of the building. After more than 1,000 volunteer hours to build the library, (amounting to approximately $24,000 in value) and donations of fixtures, lighting, computers, a book drop, card catalogs, etc. the library was completed and the doors opened Monday, March 18, 1991.
The Friends of the Bridge City Public Library, Inc. is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 (c) 3 organization after receiving its letter of determination March 1990.
Mission:
*To stimulate public support and encourage more extensive use of library.
*To interpret the library’s needs to the public and work to fill those needs.
*To provide direct financial assistance to the library.
*To stimulate private gifts, memorials, endowments and bequests.
*To help extend and improve library services.
Teacherage & Museum
In the summer of 1995 the Chamber of Commerce received a donation of one of the oldest homes in Bridge City that was renovated for a new office/museum. The former “teacherage," owned by the Bridge City School District, was built in 1930 and continually occupied by principals, teachers, bus mechanics and maintenance personnel.
The teacherage’s first occupants were Austin and Mamie Lee Floyd who lived in half of the house from 1930-1939 and single schoolteachers Roseline Muckleroy and Pauline Smith lived in the other half. In 1930 female teachers were not allowed to be married and were required to live on campus. The next teachers to live in the home were Alma Myer, Dimple Lott Nelson and Hallie “Dolly” Peveto Harmon. Principal Grady Matteaurer and family lived in the home from 1939-1940, then he enlisted in the US Navy and called a friend Grover Die to tell him that his job would be open. Grover Die became the principal and he and spouse Ruby moved in the home. Also occupying the home were teachers Ona Mae Minyard and Fannie Mae Dugan Darcie shared the living quarters for a few years before the Die family began to grow. The Die family lived in the home from 1941-1961.
By 1945 the home became a single-family dwelling. From 1961-1964 Joseph “Bud” Schlicher took care of maintenance for the school district and lived in the house. In 1964 Tommy and Jean Dixon’s family moved into the seven-room home for the next 26 years. They were the longest occupants of the home up until that time. Their children included Sherby, Charlie, Thomas, Vernon and Joyce Dixon. From 1990 until 1993 the R.C. Herrin family occupied the home. He was the ground's keeper.
By 1993, because the home was in disrepair, the district used it for two years to store food commodities. In July 1995 the district donated the house to the Bridge City Chamber of Commerce and it was moved some eight blocks at 995 W. Roundbunch to its present location of 150 W. Roundbunch. The peak of the house had to be cut off so it could pass under the two red lights between the bus barn and it’s new location.
The Chamber of Commerce completed the restoration of the house in March, 1996. A grand opening was held June 12, 1996. Several of the original occupants were on hand for the event. The restoration was chaired by chamber of commerce director and project chairman Dr. Fred Zoch. The executive vice president of the chamber and coordinator was Charlotte Schexnider Chiasson. The new office is home to the Bridge City Historical Museum...Former Prairie View Teacherage. It houses Rainbow Bridge memorabilia and construction photographs of the bridge. E.H. Hickey of Port Arthur who worked for Texaco took the pictures for the bridge contractor. When he retired he gave the negatives to Gus Garza of Bridge City who was also a photographer. Garza developed the pictures for C.W. (Bubba) Hubbard, a local history buff. The pictures were eventually donated to the city and are on loan to the museum for display. The museum also houses artifacts of Prairie View and Bridge City including sports memorabilia from the high school Cardinal 1966 4-A state football championships.
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