Port Neches, Texas

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Port Neches is a city in Jefferson County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,601 at the 2000 census.

1 History
2 Early Pioneers
3 Geography
4 Demographics
5 Education
6 Famous Natives From Port Neches
7 Points of interest
8 External links

[edit] History

The area known as Port Neches was inhabited by Atakapa Indians, a tribe of coastal dwelling Indians. Port Neches was also the site of Fort Grigsby, a set of American Civil War-era defenses intended to stop a Union advance up the Neches River. The fort was constructed in October 1862, and abandoned someftime after July 1863.

Native Americans; the Nechez. SOUTHEAST TEXAS INDIAN HOMELAND: THE BURIAL MOUNDS OF OLD PORT NECHES

[edit] Early Pioneers

William Theodore Joseph Block (Will Block, Sr.) of Port Neches, Texas, was born on August 2, 1870

Over 130 years later, Her Majesty Beatrix, Queen of the Netherlands, appointed W. T. Block Jr. (his son) as "Knight of the Royal Order of Orange-Nassau" in a ceremony held at the Tex Ritter Park in Nederland Texas. The award was presented by the Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands -- Mr. Ed J. Reitsma.

RIDDER in de ORDE VAN ORANJE-NASSAU: Son of William Theodore Joseph Block, "W.T. Block" is appointed Knight of the Royal Order of Orange-Nassau for his work in reconstructing the history of Dutch settlers in the Port Neches areas.

[edit] Geography

Port Neches is located on the Neches River in southeast Texas. The city is approximately five miles upstream from Sabine Lake, and 20 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico.

Port Neches is located at 29°58′51″N, 93°57′37″W (29.980863, -93.960382)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.8 km² (9.2 mi²). 23.6 km² (9.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.76%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 13,601 people, 5,280 households, and 3,975 families residing in the city. The population density was 575.2/km² (1,490.4/mi²). There were 5,656 housing units at an average density of 239.2/km² (619.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.75% White, 0.93% African American, 0.47% Native American, 1.57% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.18% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.07% of the population.

There were 5,280 households out of which 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.6% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.7% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,523, and the median income for a family was $53,729. Males had a median income of $43,089 versus $27,847 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,273. About 4.4% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.