Name: Nederland, Texas
Address: Nederland, TX

Nederland, TX RoadyGoat

Nederland, Texas. It’s a town built on the dreams of Dutch investors, a slice of the low country dropped right here in Southeast Texas. You feel that Dutch heritage still, a certain quiet resilience and an appreciation for community. But Nederland’s story is more than just tulips and windmills. It’s a story etched in the faces of folks who’ve weathered storms, both the literal kind like Rita and Ike, and the figurative ones life throws your way.

Nederland, TX RoadyGoat

Nederland, Texas, carries its heritage right in its name. Founded by Dutch investors back in 1897, the town was meant to be a little piece of the Netherlands on the Gulf Coast. While you won’t hear much Dutch spoken these days, the spirit of those early settlers lingers. The streets, laid out with a certain orderliness, sometimes hint at that European influence. The town’s connection to the sea, though often turbulent with hurricanes like Rita and Ike leaving their mark, also reflects the Dutch relationship with water. Maybe that's why folks here are so resilient. You can see that community spirit in the way everyone rallies around the 'Bum Phillips Bowl' – that annual football showdown with Port Neches-Groves isn’t just a game, it’s a celebration of local pride. And while there might not be windmills dotting the landscape, the entrepreneurial spirit that brought those Dutch investors here is still alive. Of course, down by the marsh, there's also the whisper of Jean Lafitte's buried treasure, another layer in this unique blend of cultures that makes Nederland what it is.

Nederland, TX RoadyGoat

Nederland is a place shaped by water and wind, a low-lying landscape where the land barely peeks above the Gulf's reach. Situated so close to the coast, just a handful of feet above sea level, the land is flat, a part of the vast coastal plain that defines Southeast Texas. Marshy grasses and slow-moving bayous are common sights, where American alligators bask in the sun, undisturbed by the occasional passing boat. That proximity to the water, while a source of life and industry, also means a constant awareness of the weather. The names Rita and Ike are spoken with a certain reverence, reminders of the powerful storms that have reshaped the community and left their mark on the landscape. The land also carries echoes of legends, whispers of pirate Jean Lafitte's buried treasure hidden somewhere in the coastal marshes. But more than anything, Nederland is defined by its people, a close-knit community with a strong sense of place. The rivalry between Nederland and Port Neches-Groves, embodied in the Bum Phillips Bowl, is more than just a football game — it's a testament to the deep roots and local pride that bind this community together.

Southeast Texas Regional Airport

1941

Originally named Jefferson County Airport, this facility has served area residents since the World War II era. Jefferson County Commissioners purchased land to build the airport in 1941, and its development, which included three runways, a taxiway system and apron facilities, began the following year, with initial construction completed in early 1944. Eastern Airlines conducted the first scheduled flight in March of that year. During the war, the airport also served U.S. Marine Air Corps Dive Bomber Squadron No. 931 as a base for advanced training. Pilot trainees used floating targets in the Gulf of Mexico off Sabine Pass for gunnery and divebombing practice. The airport has accommodated developments in air technology through enhancement of its facilities. Improvements in the 1950s and 1960s included additional land, buildings and taxiways, and installation of runway lighting and an instrument landing system. In the early 1980s, when Texas International, Southwest Airlines, Air Texana and Metro Airlines all operated out of the airport, additional improvements were made, including completion of a new terminal. In 1999, County Commissioners approved a name change for the facility to the Southeast Texas Regional Airport. As chemical and petrochemical industries, paper and pulp manufacturing and other area businesses grew, the airport became an increasingly important transportation center. In 2005, it was the site of one of the largest civilian airlifts in U.S. History, when the U.S. military evacuated thousands of local residents with special medical needs during landfall of Hurricane Rita. Today, the airport continues to play a vital economic role in southeast Texas.

Historical Marker →

Tex Ritter

1905

(January 12, 1905 - January 2, 1974) Western singing star Woodward Maurice ("Tex") Ritter was born in Panola County, Texas. After attending college, he began singing cowboy ballads on a Houston radio station in 1928. He advanced to broadway, where he was nicknamed "Tex," and in 1936 began a series of popular western movies. Ritter performed later for television and the Grand Ole Opry and was named to the Country Music Hall of fame. His best-know recording is the title song from the film "High Noon."

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Early Texas Oil Pipelines

1901

This marks route of Texas' first oil pipelines to tidewater, constructed 1901 to transport oil from famed Spindletop gusher (7 mi. north), which came in on Jan. 10, and flowed at rate of 75,000 barrels a day. A group later to become the Gulf Pipeline Company laid 11 miles of line to the railroad in two weeks' time, extending the line in 1902 to Port Arthur; by 1904 the area had 513.5 miles of pipelines. Earlier lines had been built in Nacogdoches, 1889, and Corsicana, 1898. Pipelines were made necessary by heavy production, meager storage facilities, and poor roads for freight wagons hauling out the oil. Mountains are ripped open, river beds tunneled, and continents spanned by pipelines. The "Big Inch" line laid from Texas to the Atlantic in World War II was a decisive factor in victory for the Allies. Pipeline mileage still increases daily; the work employs thousands. Besides interstate lines, oil fields use miles of pipes leading to railroad and barge docks, refineries and processing plants. Within Texas today are more than 146,000 miles of pipelines transporting petroleum and its products, enabling the natural resources of the state to be shared by other people of the world. (1966)

Historical Marker → · 4.3 mi away

Port Neches, TX

1906

Port Neches, once known as Grigsby's (or Grigsby) Bluff, is located in eastern Jefferson County on Farm roads 365 and 366 and State Highway 347, ten miles southeast of Beaumont. The area was formerly the site of an Atakapa Indian village, relics of which were excavated in 1841. Thomas F. McKinney located his land claim there during the 1830s and went so far as to survey a townsite to be called Georgia. His plans, however, never materialized, and he sold two-thirds of his league to Joseph Grigsby in 1837. Grigsby and his family, who established a plantation and boat landing on a bluff overlooking the Neches River, were the earliest Anglo settlers of the area. In the antebellum era Grigsby's Bluff was an important landing for Neches River traffic. John T. Johnson and Samuel Remley established a gristmill and steam sawmill there in 1856; in 1859 they employed six men and cut one million feet of "planks and scantlings." In 1862 Confederate troops hastily constructed Fort Grigsby to block a possible Union thrust up the Neches River, where they successfully repulsed Union forces in October 1862. The fort was abandoned in January 1863. George F. Block erected a shingle mill in 1866. The post office, originally opened in 1859 and closed during the Civil War , was reopened in 1877 and closed again in 1893. About fifty people lived at Grigsby's Bluff in 1880. The turn of the century brought sweeping changes to the lower Neches River area. In 1902 the Central Asphalt Company set up a plant near Grigsby's Bluff. A townsite on the new Kansas City railroad was drawn up the same year and called Port Neches. The Texas Company (later Texaco ) purchased and remodeled the plant in 1906, bringing in the refineries and oil-related industries that would provide Port Neches with much of its lifeblood, although in 1915 the town, with a population of 600, was still mainly dependent on the cultivation of rice and oranges. The community's voters, after defeating an incorporation measure in 1926, agreed by a 212–80 margin to incorporate their town in 1927. The location of Port Neches on the heavily industrialized upper Texas Gulf Coast encouraged steady growth. The population grew rapidly during and after World War II , rising from 2,487 in the early 1940s to 8,696 by 1960. A 100,000-ton butadiene plant built by the federal government at Port Neches during World War II was sold to Goodrich-Gulf and Texas U.S. Chemical in 1955. By 1988 more than 14,000 people lived at Port Neches. Despite a severe economic decline caused by lower oil prices, the city had 157 rated businesses. In 2000 the population was 13,601 with 327 businesses.

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Ezzell, Margaret Murphy

1961

Margaret Murphy Ezzell, civic leader and historic preservationist, was born on November 11, 1902, in Hillsboro, Texas, the daughter of Joshua Elmer and Linnie (Lovejoy) Murphy. She was active in civic affairs in Port Arthur, Beaumont, Nederland, and Port Neches. From 1962 to 1972 she was a member and vice chairwoman of the Jefferson County Historical Survey Committee. In 1962 she was coorganizer of the Port Arthur Historical Museum and chaired the building committee that oversaw construction of the first public library building in Port Neches. She was also actively involved in the planning and building of a clubhouse for the Nechesland Study Club. In 1972 she was the state coordinator of activities to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the battle of Sabine Pass . From 1961 to 1976 Ezzell served on the Battleship Texas Commission. During her tenure she gathered many of the historic items that were on the ship originally and opened a museum on the ship to house them. In 1966 she became a charter member of the Historic Naval Ships of North America, an organization of groups that maintain historic vessels, and in 1975 she was elected president. She also located and presented to the legislature the reverse side of the Great Seal of the state of Texas ( see SEALS OF TEXAS ). Margaret Ezzell was an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution , the United Daughters of the Confederacy , and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas . She served as president-general of the DRT from 1961 to 1963 and as registrar general from 1971 to 1973. From 1963 through 1969 she chaired the DRT projects committee. Under her leadership the Long Barrack of the Alamo , which is administered by the DRT, was restored and a museum established there. She raised funds for the restoration and directed the planning and completion of the museum. From 1965 to 1969 she served on the DRT Alamo committee. In 1966 the Texas Historical Foundation honored Ezzell for her work in historic preservation, and in 1970 the Texas State Genealogical Society recognized her for the preservation of historical documents. The Sons of the Republic of Texas awarded her a Medal of Appreciation in 1970 for her contributions to the preservation of American history. Ezzell was married to Asa Murray Ezzell, an executive with the Texaco oil company. She died at her home in Port Neches on October 24, 1987, and was buried in Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery in Houston. Her large library of Texana was given to the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center at Liberty.

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Nederland, Texas

Music in Nederland

Songs About Nederland

Artists From Nederland

Rivers & Roads in Song near Nederland

History of Nederland

Nederland, TX RoadyGoat

Nederland, TX RoadyGoat

Nederland, TX RoadyGoat

Southeast Texas Regional Airport

Tex Ritter

Early Texas Oil Pipelines

Port Neches, TX

Ezzell, Margaret Murphy

Things to Do in Nederland

Everything Near Nederland