Port Arthur is a city in the state of Texas, United States of America, located east of metropolitan Houston. Part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, the city lies primarily in Jefferson County, with a small extension in Orange County. The second-largest oil refinery in the US, the Motiva Refinery, is located in Port Arthur.

Its population was 53,818 at the 2010 census, down from 57,755 at the 2000 census. In 2020, its population was 56,039. In the 19th century, initial attempts to settle the area had all failed, mostly. However, in 1895, Arthur Stilwell founded Port Arthur, and the town quickly grew, being incorporated as a city in 1898. It soon developed into a seaport and eventually became the center of a large oil-refinery network.- Retrieved 2013-09-10 The Rainbow Bridge across the Neches River connects Port Arthur to Bridge City.

Due to its location on the Gulf of Mexico, Port Arthur is vulnerable to hurricanes and other intense tropical weather, as well as extreme heatwaves, high humidity, and tornadoes. Since its inception, the city has experienced several incidences of extreme weather resulting in significant damages and casualties.

History Aurora was an early settlement attempt near the mouth of Taylor Bayou on Sabine Lake, about long and wide. It is a saltwater estuary formed by the confluence of the Neches and Sabine Rivers. Through its tidal outlet, Sabine Pass, Sabine Lake drains some of Texas and Louisiana into the Gulf of Mexico. The town was conceived in 1837, and in 1840 promoters led by Almanzon Huston were offering town lots for sale. Some were sold, but Huston's project failed to attract many settlers. The area next was known as "Sparks", after John Sparks, who moved his family to the shores of Sabine Lake near the site of Aurora. The Eastern Texas Railroad, completed between Sabine Pass and Beaumont, Texas, passed west of Sparks. However, the American Civil War soon began, and rail lines were removed. In 1886, a destructive hurricane hit the coast, causing the remaining residents to dismantle their homes and move to Beaumont. By 1895, Aurora had become a ghost town.

Arthur Stilwell led the resettling of the area as part of his planned city as the southern terminus of his Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad, predecessor to the Kansas City Southern Railway. Stilwell named the city Port Arthur after himself, not the British Royal Navy lieutenant who gave his name to Port Arthur, China.

Pleasure Island now separates the city from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The man-made island was created between 1899 and 1908 by the Corps of Engineers to support development of the port.

Arthur Stilwell founded the Port Arthur Channel and Dock Company to manage the port facilities. The port officially opened with the arrival of the British steamer Saint Oswald in 1899.

When oil was discovered at Spindletop, the J.M. Guffey Petroleum Company, later Gulf Oil, had run pipelines to Port Arthur as a shipping point and a location for an oil refinery. In November 1901, the first tanker, the Cardium, departed with Spindletop oil. The refinery was enlarged in 1902, and a pipeline connected to the Glenn Pool Oil Reserve in Oklahoma. The Texas Company, later Texaco, also started building a refinery in 1902. By 1916, the Port Arthur refinery was one of the three largest in the United States.

In 1977, a slate of four candidates (McElroy, Benjamin, Linden, and Strawder) challenged four city council members, including Mayor Bernis Sadler. The "torrid" election led to the voting rights decision in the landmark case of the City of Port Arthur v. United States.

In 2015, the city council proposed an ordinance to declare Port Arthur a "film-friendly city". In October 2021, Governor Abbott announced that the city had officially been declared a "film-friendly city" by the Texas Film Commission.

On December 28, 2024, a large and intense tornado, which was a part of a large and significant tornado outbreak caused significant damage in the city, resulting in one injury.

Geography Port Arthur is located on the eastern edge of Jefferson County on the west side of Sabine Lake. It is bordered to the northeast by Orange County, Texas, and to the southeast, across Sabine Lake, by Cameron Parish, Louisiana. The Port Arthur city limits extend south along the west side of Sabine Pass, the outlet of Sabine Lake, as far as the Gulf of Mexico on the city's southern border. To the north, the city limits extend across the Neches River into Orange County. Port Arthur is bordered to the northwest by the cities of Nederland, Groves, and Port Neches, and to the northeast by Bridge City in Orange County.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 46.61%, are covered by water.

Conservation Port Arthur and the surrounding Gulf Coast area have several areas dedicated to conservation, as part of the 50 Wildlife Management Areas in Texas, comprising of land. These include the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management area with the Big Hill Unit (8,312 acres), Salt Bayou Unit (Lost Lake unit), and the Hillebrandt Unit (591 acres),, the Candy Cain Abshier Wildlife Management Area (WMA), the Walter Umphrey Park (Keith Lake unit), the Sabine Woods sanctuary, McFaddin and Texas Point National Wildlife Refuges, and the Sea Rim State Park.

Communities Communities in Port Arthur include: El Vista Griffing Park Lakeview Pear Ridge Port Acres Sabine Pass West Side

Tropical cyclones

Hurricane of September 12, 1897 Celebrations in Port Arthur on completion of the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad between Kansas City and Port Arthur occurred Saturday, September 11, 1897. The celebrations brought additional people into town. The next day, a major hurricane hit Port Arthur. Water flowed 5 ft deep in the streets. People loaded into the unfinished railroad roundhouse seeking shelter; the building promptly collapsed, killing four. In the end, 13 people died, homes were destroyed, and a pleasure pier was severely damaged.

Hurricane Audrey In June 1957, Hurricane Audrey made landfall just east of Port Arthur in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, as a category 3 hurricane. The storm caused extensive wind damage around the city and significant storm surge flooding just east in Southwest Louisiana.

Hurricane Rita On September 24, 2005, Hurricane Rita made landfall between Sabine Pass, Texas, and Johnson Bayou, Louisiana, as a category 3 hurricane. A wind gust of was recorded in Port Arthur. The storm caused widespread significant wind damage throughout the city, with power outages lasting several weeks in some locations. Some areas of the city also received flooding due to Rita.

Hurricane Humberto On September 13, 2007, Hurricane Humberto made landfall west of Port Arthur as a category 1 hurricane. The storm moved northeast across the Golden Triangle, causing widespread wind damage; however, most of the damage was relatively minor. An wind gust was recorded at the Southeast Texas Regional Airport just northwest of the city.

Tropical Storm Edouard On August 5, 2008, Tropical Storm Edouard made landfall just west of Port Arthur. The effects felt in the city were light, but wind gusts up to were recorded.

Hurricane Ike On September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike made landfall on Galveston Island as a category 2 hurricane. Due to the storm's unusually large size, effects were widespread and were felt across much of Southeast Texas. Port Arthur sustained significant wind damage and many of the city's residents lost power. The Port Arthur seawall protected the city from the major flooding that surrounding cities experienced.

Hurricane Harvey On August 29, 2017, after Harvey made a second landfall at tropical storm status, and 26 inches of rain fell in a single day at the airport near Port Arthur, triggering widespread flash flooding in the city. According to the Port Arthur Mayor Derrick Freeman, 20,000 homes were flooded with up to 6 ft of water. On August 30, Freeman posted on Facebook, "Our whole city is underwater right now."

Hurricane Laura On August 25, 2020, with Hurricane Laura expected to make landfall as a major hurricane having Port Arthur in its direct path, the city was evacuated. Turning almost due north, though, Laura ended up making its final landfall near Cameron, Louisiana.

Climate Somerville has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) with hot summers and mild winters. Port Arthur is tied with Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Astoria, Oregon, as the most humid city in the contiguous United States. The average relative humidity is 90% in the morning, and 72% in the afternoon.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Port Arthur had a population of 56,039. The median age was 35.1 years; 27.0% of residents were under 18 and 13.8% were 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males, and for every 100 females 18 and over, there were 94.7 males 18 and over.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 13,496 24.1% Black or African American 21,320 38.0% American Indian and Alaska Native 539 1.0% Asian 3,323 5.9% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander 26 0.0% Some other race 10,605 18.9% Two or more races 6,730 12.0% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 21,165 37.8%

Almost all of the residents lived in urban areas, while 1.3% lived in rural areas.

Of the 20,990 households in Port Arthur, 35.9% had children under 18 living in them, 36.7% were married-couple households, 22.9% had a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.4% had a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older.

The city had 24,504 housing units, of which 14.3% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.8%.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, 53,818 people, 20,183 households, and 13,191 families resided in the city. The population density was . The 23,577 housing units averaged 284.4 per square mile (109.8/km). The racial makeup of the city was 41.7% African American, 37.9% White, 1.2% Native American, 6.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 15.3% from other races. Hispanics or Latino Americans of any race were 29.6% of the population. Of the 20,183 households in 2010, 30.2% had children under 18 living with them, 39.2% were married couples living together, 19.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were not families; 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.63, and the average family size was 3.31. In the city, the age distribution was 27.0% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 or older. The median age was 35.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.

2019 American Community Survey estimates

In 2019, the American Community Survey estimated 18.7% of the population was non-Hispanic White, 38.1% Black and African American, 0.2% Native American, 7.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.2% some other race, and 34.5% Hispanic or Latino American of any race.

From 2014 to 2019, the median household income was $36,557; families had a median income of $44,115; married families $56,304; and nonfamily households $24,280. Among the population, 27.2% lived at or below the poverty line, against the state's 13.6% impoverished population from 2014 to 2019 census estimates. In contrast, the nearby city of Beaumont had a poverty rate of 16.7%, down from 17.6%.

Economy