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Old Bevilport
by Bob
Bowman
History laid a heavy hand on Bevilport. But you won’t find it on many
road maps or marked by highway signs.
The old townsite--once a steamboat port on the Angelina River--was
named for John Bevil, a Virginian who came to Texas
in the l820s. He is given credit for founding the community, as well
as Bevil’s Settlement, the forerunner of Jasper.
As a speculator, Bevil’s propensity for land deals got him in trouble,
and he was reportedly forced to leave Jasper County for a time as
a result of disputes over land titles. He also developed the unsuccessful
City of the Pass (now Sabine
Pass) in Jefferson County.
As a river navigation point from 1830 to 1860, Bevilport was noted
for its bustling river docks, which shipped East
Texas cotton and hides to New
Orleans. General Sam
Houston, who engineered the Texas Revolution, was given the first
lot in the townsite.
Bevilport had a main street and a hotel by the 1850s and served as
a business and social center until the Civil War.
But, when logging for Beaumont
sawmills began to interfere with riverboat traffic on the Neches
River below its confluence with the Angelina River, Bevilport
began to decline.
Today, there are few buildings left at Bevilport.
One of the town’s old homes, once owned by Randolph C. Doom, an early
customs collector, still stands--but not in Bevilport.
Former Congressman Jack Brooks of Beaumont
bought the home, moved it a few miles north of the river, and refurbished
it as a family retreat.
During Brooks’ heyday as a political power broker, House Speaker Sam
Rayburn and Vice President Lyndon Johnson stayed there several times.
An old Doom ledger shows that Sam
Houston bought a gallon of kerosene on credit at the store in
the l830s--and never paid for it. |
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Bevilport
Town Site
1936 Texas Centennial Marker
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2010 |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and vintage or recent photos, please contact
us. |
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