After 1900, the Port of Galveston emerged as the second largest in the U.S. Following completion of a deep-water channel to Texas City in 1904, the Mainland's major petroleum and petrochemical plants, tin smelter and allied industries had their beginning. Galveston's waterfront handles primarily dry cargo while Texas City handles liquid petroleum and petrochemical cargoes.

Agriculture production is also important to the Galveston County economy. Rice, corn, grain, oats, dairying, poultry, truck crops and cattle raising are leading items.

In 1913, the U.S. Army moved 10,000 men and eight of its twelve airplanes to Texas City, with the first successful test flight made from Texas City to San Antonio.

In 1928, Galveston County began initial seawall protection for Texas City. Following the devastating effect of hurricane Carla in 1961, construction began on a 17-mile protective system extending around Texas City and LaMarque.

Disaster struck Texas City, April 16, 1947, with the explosion of the French-flag steamer "Grandcamp." Resulting fires and explosions left 576 dead, 4,000 persons injured and $70,000,000 property damage. Undismayed, the city rebuilt.

In addition to its port facilities, Galveston is a large supplier of seafood, is a major financial center, has a tea-blending plant, a rail and wire factory, grain elevators, a brewery, several large insurance companies, a ship repair yard and many part-associated industries. A servicing facility for nuclear-powered commercial vessels is also maintained here.

A major contributor to the Galveston economy is the University of Texas Medical Branch. Created in 1881, the facility is known as "The Mayo's of the South" and is a leading heart, surgical and burns treatment center. The Galveston County Memorial Hospital was constructed on the Mainland in 1952.

With the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Manned Spacecraft Center in 1961 at Clear Lake, bordering Galveston and Harris counties, many residents of Galveston County became employed in the space effort. Space vehicles and equipment were tested in nearby Galveston Bay.

Mississippi native D.W. Gilbert came to Texas in 1874. Graduated from Missouri Medical College in 1881, he began his practice in Euless and Grapevine. In 1884 he moved to Sowers, purchased 1500 acres of farmland, planted a peach orchard and operated a dairy. He relocated to Irving in 1903, becoming one of the area's first physicians and a civic leader. Respected and beloved by those he served, Gilbert was buried here among his family.

Founded 1827 as St. Clair, 3 mi. east. Moved to present site on Glade Creek and T & P Railway in 1872. Population increased from 500 to 7000 after discovery of oil in 1931, when it became production and refining hub.

Manufacturing, clothing, medical, farming and dairy center. Home of annual East Texas Quarter Horse Show and the richest self-supporting cemetery in the world. Round-up association sponsors June rodeo, nationally known, in unique arena in abandoned salt water disposal pit. Historic sites marked.

Wild mustang grapes growing profusely in this area inspired the name "Grapevine" for this community. Ambrose Foster (1794?-1847) and his wife Susannah Medlin (1796-1876) were among the first settlers in 1845, from Platte County, Missouri. The Fosters, their daughters and sons-in-law acquired land that became the heart of Grapevine. Within the first year worship services and school classes were conducted.

Cattle raising was the major enterprise prior to the Civil War. Beef cattle were sold to Camp Worth (present Fort Worth) by Archibald Leonard, Fosters' son-in-law, who owned a mercantile store. In 1858 a Federal Post Office was established and run by Solon Dunn. During the 1870s the village was also known as "Dunnville". In 1914 the name became "Grapevine". After the Cotton Belt Railroad line opened in 1888, the town thrived as a shipping center for cotton, grain, truck crops and dairy products. In 1907 Grapevine incorporated. By 1934 two major paved roads leading to Dallas and Fort Worth were constructed. A dam built in 1942 on Denton Creek formed Lake Grapevine. It serves as a water supply, flood control measure, and a recreational area. In 1974 the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport opened within the city limits.

After the 1915 storm almost destroyed the Texas City dairy business of John Tobias Hicks (1878-1946) and his wife Fannie (Perry) (1877-1955), they bought this home and surrounding 40 acres in the Manvel community. They established a productive milk business that shipped milk by wagon to a Houston creamery, later called the Borden Company. Like other dairy farmers during times of low milk prices, Hicks depended on outside work, leaving his milk business to be managed by his family. Today, dairies are no longer part of Manvel's economy.

Home of the Karankawa Indians granted in part to Stephen F. Austin and to Martin de Leon. Settled 1824-1835 by colonists largely from Alabama, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and west of the Lavaca, Mexico. Organized as a municipality December 5, 1835. Named in honor of Andrew Jackson, President of the United States. Created a county March 17, 1836, organized in 1836 with Texana, formerly Santa Anna, county seat; Edna, county seat since 1883. In memory of John McHenry, Francis M. White, James Kerr, F.F. Wells, early settlers.

William Menefee, Elijah Stapp, signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence. William Sutherland, marytr of the Alamo; George Sutherland, John S. Menefee, James A. Sylvester, heroes of San Jacinto. Clark L. Owen, Colonel in the Confederate Army, and other pioneers who resided in this county before or directly after the Texas Revolution.

Jackson County: average altitude 75 feet, annual rainfall 37 inches. Soil: black hogwallow, sandy loams, alluvial. Crops and products: cotton, livestock, corn, dairying, vegetables, poultry, pecans, oil and gas.

In 1899, John Lang Sinclair became a student at the University of Texas (UT) in Austin. The first UT band was formed in 1900 and Sinclair, possessing an aptitude for music, joined it as well as the Glee Club. The student head of the Glee Club, Lewis Johnson, urged Sinclair to write a school song in 1903. His first attempt was "The Jolly Students of Varsity." His second, to the tune of "I've Been Working on The Railroad," was "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You." UT President William L. Prather, formerly a student at Washington College (later Washington and Lee University), had often heard Robert E. Lee admonish his students, "The Eyes of The South Are Upon You." Prather altered the saying for use at UT, and Sinclair borrowed it for his song. "The Eyes of Texas," first performed at a minstrel show at Austin's Hancock Opera House to benefit the UT track team, was an instant success.

Sinclair graduated in 1904 and returned to his family's dairy farm in eastern Bexar County. When Prather died in 1905, his family requested a performance of "The Eyes of Texas" at his funeral. Sinclair moved to New York City, where he and his wife, Stella Anderson of San Antonio (also a UT graduate) were active in the New York Texas Eyes' Association.

The song was so popular throughout the nation that many confused it with the official state song of Texas. After years of copyright battles, the UT acquired the rights to it in the 1980s. According to the university magazine "The Alcalde," the chimes atop the UT tower played "The Eyes of Texas" during Sinclair's San Antonio funeral. Though he revised the words from the original version, the spirit of the song remained the same. Its popularity continues at the dawn of the 21st century.

Illinois native John Warne Gates (1855-1911) arrived in Port Arthur in 1899 at the urging of his business partner and town promoter, Arthur Stilwell. Gates' time here as a financier, entrepreneur and philanthropist left a significant legacy to the city in the form of numerous charitable bequests, businesses and educational institutions. Prior to his arrival in Port Arthur, Gates had gained fame as a barbed wire salesman and earned his fortune as a steel magnate. Soon after his arrival on the Gulf Coast he helped finance Patillo Higgins endeavor to drill for oil, which resulted in the discovery of oil at the Spindletop field in January 1901. Gates founded the Port Arthur Rice Milling Company and promoted the recognition of Port Arthur as a United States port of entry, which was achieved when President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Congressional Act to that effect in 1906. Other endeavors included the Gates Model Dairy Farm, the Mary A. Gates Memorial Hospital and the Gates Plaza Hotel. He founded and endowed the Port Arthur Business College (now Lamar State College - Port Arthur) in 1909, and set aside land for what became the Gates Memorial Library after his death. Gates' Classical Revival mansion, built near this site in 1909, epitomized his social and economic position in the city. Boasting 18 rooms and numerous outbuildings, it took nine months to build at a cost of $500,000. The house later became the home of Dr. Murff F. Bledsoe, who developed the Bledsoe Place addition, and was razed in 1960.

The land in this area, initially known as Highland Bayou, was part of a Republic of Texas land grant awarded to John D. Moore in 1838. The Galveston, Houston, and Henderson Railroad linked Galveston and Houston by 1860, and Highland Bayou, directly on the rail line, began a period of significant growth.

A post office opened in 1869, and in 1886, in response to a request from the U.S. Postal Service, a new name was chosen for the settlement. Alternately spelled Lamarque and La Marque, the new name appeared in official records as La Marque by 1900.

The construction of an interurban electric railway line from Galveston to Houston in 1911 led to increased settlement in La Marque. The primary local business was agriculture, particularly dairy farming. Along with homes and businesses, social, education, and religious institutions flourished, as well.

The rise of the petrochemical industry along the bay in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s changed the area's economic base, and La Marque developed as a residential area to serve industrial workers in nearby Texas City. An attempt by Texas City to annex La Marque in 1953 failed, and La Marque citizens voted to incorporate that same year.

In 1892 William Percy Lamar (1889-1946) came with his parents from Tarrant County to Crosby County, settling on a 160-acre homestead. He married Sarah Elzina Henson (1892-1963) in 1912. They prospered through farming, dairying, stock raising, and business. In 1957 Elzina established the Percy and Zina Lamar Foundation. Gifts to the community include building and continued support of Crosby County Pioneer Memorial Museum and Community Center, a tribute to the Lamar Family and all West Texas Pioneers. Other gifts include a Masonic Hall and donations to Methodist charities.