Beaumont

“The Museum Capital of Texas,” the settlement of Beaumont began when early French and Spanish trappers and explorers established a trading post in the early 1800s. The townsite was laid out in the mid-1830s, and was named either for a relative or the agent who sold the original 50 acres of land, or, perhaps, for the slight elevation southeast called beau mont in French. The city came of age in 1901 with the world’s first great oil gusher at Spindletop; the village of Beaumont became a city of 30,000 within a month. Today, Beaumont is an industrial giant, a major port, an agricultural center, and home of Lamar University.

Beaumont rocks…and zydecos, too! A unique combination of two colorful cultures, our Texas heritage and its bayou roots, makes for what cajuns call “lagniappe,” which means, “a little something extra.”

The South Texas State Fair draws more than 600,000 visitors annually in early October and features FFA and 4-H livestock, a livestock auction, live entertainment, exhibits, and carnival.

The original bi-monthly 11th Street Cruises are a parade of classic, vintage, and custom cars that drive in parade fashion of the “Old 11th Street drag.”

The St. Anthony Cathedral at 700 Jefferson Dr. is modeled after St. Paul’s Basilica in Rome. Construction began soon after the 1901 oil boom.