Brazosport

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Map of Brazoria County

Brazosport is on State Highway 288 where the Brazos River meets the Gulf of Mexico, sixty miles south of Houston in southern Brazoria County. It is a 214-square-mile urbanized industrial and port area. According to some sources the popular name was first used in eighteenth-century nautical charts. Brazosport shares a chamber of commerce with local economically linked municipalities—Clute, Freeport, Lake Barbara, Richwood, and Lake Jackson—and small towns—Jones Creek, Oyster Creek, Quintana, Surfside, Gulf Park, Bryan Beach, Perry's Landing, and Bastrop Bayou.

Port facilities, sulfur mines, and the chemical industry were largely responsible for rapid growth in the community after Dow Chemical Company arrived in 1939. By 1990 the firm employed almost 11,000 people. The Brazos River Harbor Navigation District was established in 1925 to govern development of the Port of Freeport; it opened the harbor on December 11, 1954. The nation's first seawater conversion plant was established in Brazosport in 1959, and in the 1970s Bryan Mound Salt Dome provided strategic oil reserves for the United States government. The Brazosport resort industry promotes forty-four miles of beaches and sport and commercial fishing. It is responsible for annual events, including the April Blessing of the Texas Gulf Fleet, the June Sandcastle and Sand Sculpture Contest and Fort Velasco Day, July Fishin' Fiesta and Shrimp Festival, September Shrimp Boil and Auction, and October Sausage Festival. In 1988 a Foreign Trade Zone opened by the Port of Freeport provided access to worldwide markets. Local pacemaker manufacturer Intermedics merged with Sulzer Brothers of Switzerland in that year, bringing new industry to the area.

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Diana J. Kleiner | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

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Adoption Status:
This place has been adopted and will not be available until April 15, 2025
Adopted by:
Carl Wolfe
Dedication Message:
In honor of The Center for the Arts and Sciences

Belongs to

Brazosport is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Brazosport is classified as a Town

Associated Names

  • [includes Clute, Freeport, Jones Creek, Lake Jackson, Oyster Creek, Quintana, Richwood, Surfside Beach]

Location

Latitude: 28.94719210
Longitude: -95.31438230

Has Post Office

No

Is Incorporated

No

Population Count, 2019 View more »

60,138