LAKE JACKSON, TEXAS

Brazoria County, Texas Gulf Coast

29° 2' 13" N, 95° 26' 18" W (29.036944, -95.438333)

Just W of Highway 288
On the Brazos River
51 Miles S of Houston
10 Miles S of Angleton the county seat
8 Miles N of Freeport
18 Miles SE of West Columbia
Population: 27,209 (2014) 26,386 (2000)

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Buffalo Camp Bayou near Lake Jackson
Photo courtesy Ken Rudine, July 2008

History in a Pecan Shell

Lake Jackson is on the site of a former 3,000 acre cotton and sugar plantation. Prior to the Civil War (1843 to 1845) it belonged to Abner Jackson. After slavery was abolished, the plantation used convict labor to produce sugar. Freed slaves formed the nucleus of the town. The Dow Chemical Company bought the former plantation (which includes four separate lakes) in the early 1940s and designed it to provide housing for employees, including land to be left for private development. By 1950 the population was nearing 3,000 and eight years later it had reached over 11,000.

Being a new town with no existing business history, it wasn't until the late 60s and 70s that the town became self-sufficient from a business standpoint. A mall opened in 1976 and the completion of Highway 288 from Houston gave the town an extra boost. The population reached 22,776 by the 1990 census. The city has since built a replica of Jackson's plantation house and provides access to the banks of the Brazos through Wilderness Park, an undeveloped area.

Lake Jackson TX - This Way That Way Signs

"This Way" "That Way" Signs
Photo courtesy Terry Jeanson, September 2005
More Texas Signs

Lake Jackson TX - Intersection of This Way That Way Signs

The Intersection
Photo courtesy Terry Jeanson, September 2005

Native Daughter

Selena Cartoon by Roger Todd Moore

A Drive to Lake Jackson

Turning 77 on 288
or "We just left where we thought we were headed."
by Ken Rudine

Instead of going to Matagorda for my 77th birthday my wife Yvonne and I decided to go to Lake Jackson to find the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory on Buffalo Camp Bayou. We left Houston on 288 South... more

Lake Jackson water tower
Photo courtesy Ken Rudine, July 2007
More Texas Water Towers

Take a road trip

Texas Gulf Coast

Lake Jackson, Texas Nearby Towns:
Angleton the county seat
Houston | Freeport | West Columbia
See Brazoria County

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