TEXAS—931 MILES
EAST TEXAS
Orange to San Antonio, 329 miles
Road Conditions
Fast Texas is two-thinls paved, remainder gravel. The paved surface will be Increased during 1028. The 20 ml. between Richmond and East Bernard is to be reconstructed and paved. Travel Is detoured by gravel and paved State road northward by Wallis, adding 8 mi.
Description of Country
East Texas is one of the richest sections on the Old Spanish Trail Beaumont and Houston are developing industrial and financial leadership and growing fast. Houston’s ship channel, with Galveston at the entrance, carries exports of 17 roilroads.
In the Sabine District are the Forts of Beaumont and Orange. Fort Arthur and Fort Neelies, serving southeast Texas and contiguous stntes and themselves harboring big industrial plants and expanding rapidly.
This Sabine District Is one of the big oil producing, refining, manufacturing, distributing mid exporting centers of the U. S. Beaumont Is nlso the commercial center of a rich agricultural and lumber region. Farm products of large acreage are sugar enne, figs, corn, oottfn, peanuts, rice, satsuma oranges, truck, goats, sheep, cattle *iiffid poultry.
Texas Is larj^e. Orfc-third of the Old Spanish Trujl-is in Texas. Travelers, seeing so much unsettled countj^v^get mistaken ideas. Texas hns proven Its agricultural fertility, yet its vast area is developed only In spots. In South and East Texas these areas offer unusual opportunities to the homesceker and homcscekers are coming in large numbers. Ilydtfo-elcctric power lines, oil pipe lines and natural gas lings* ‘Total tens of thousands of miles and new lines being contiiMthlly constructed. New hotels along the Old Spanish Troll just built or now * building total over $30,000,000 in Texas alone.
West of Houston, to San Antonio, the rolling hills begin. This country Is closely farmed, fertile, prosperous and pretty. The drinking water generally is good.
Old History
Tiie battlefield of San Jacinto is east of Houston. There Gen. Sam Houston and his band of Texas patriots destroyed the nrmy of Snnta Ana and won Texas freedom from Mexico, April 21, 1836. The first attempt to disarm the patriots was at Gonzales, now known as the “Lexington of Texas,” October 2, 1835. Then came the fall of the Alamo, March C, 1836 and the pursuit of Snm Houston’s little army by Santa Ana across Texas to the banks of the San Jnclnto River where the rugged Texans swept thru the Mexicans and won this land for Americans.
*0RANGE. Deep-water port and municipal docks. Large lumber interests of the Sabine River. Creosoting, pine paper pulp, and iron works. Important oil fields near. NEW HOLLAND HOTEL, good. Inf.—Chamber of Commerce.
NECI-IES RIVER. Long bridge and approaches involved many construction problems.
•^BEAUMONT. Deep-water port and industrial city, center of a dozen oil fields, big refineries, shipyards, steel and tank car and other manufacturing: commercial center of the vast East Texas truck, fruit and farming areas and of the Louisiana-Texas rice growing region, the largest in the world. Living conditions are reflected by the fact Beaumont shows the lowest death rate of any city 10 Texas.
Beaumont and the Sabine district have grown with the automobile; the cars and people of a million roads are moving by the mysterious power generated here. Spindle Top, in sight of Beaumont’s skyscrapers, was the first and fnmous gusher field in America: it produced 50.000,-ooo bbis. and was thought exhausted. Then the Yount-Lee Company in 1025 brought in a 5.000 bbl. well on lower levels and Beaumont lived anew the excitement of the Pioneer days. Today the Yount-Lee production at Spindle Top is 31.000 bbls. daily: the total- production, about
37,000	bbls. daily. With the production of the other companies some 100,000.000 bbls. are now claimed as Spindle Top’s record and the end not in sight. Networks of pipes lie under this land. Thousands of producing wells feed the refineries—from Spindle Top’s prodigal flow and from the countless fields of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Louisiana. At Beaumont is the Magnolia refinery and near are other Magnolia plants. At Port Arthur, 22 mi. southeast of Beaumont is the Gulf refinery embracing 3.G00 A. largest in Texas, and also the chief refinerv of the Texas Company, and at Texas Island is the big plant where the cans are made and the Texaco products manufactured and shipped; at Port Neelies their asphalt plant. The Pure Oil Co., Humble, Atlantic, Yount-Lee, Prairie and others add to the network of oil industries in this district. An annual payroll of $50,000,000 is claimed from the oil companies. The automobile was a toy when oil was discovered. Gasoline had no market and was dumped into the sea. Today the products from this district go out to the world over the seven seas. Today the automobile is king and the Sabine district is the king’s market place.
HOTEL BEALMONT is new. well equipped and popular with all classes; restaurant good. CROSBY HOTEL, old but well kept. New cabin camp well equipped. Good free camp at the fair grounds. Inf.—Chamber of Commerce. Also Automobile Club (AAA) at Hotel Beaumont.
McDonald’s Tire, Service and Storage Sta. is large and well liked.
^LIBERTY. One of the old settlements of Texas and center of fertile farming country. Several big oil fields. Rice, cotton and cattle. The CENTRAL, a clean country hotel, fills early. Inf. and service Jackson’s Filling Sta. opp. the railroad station; also his tourist camp one-half mile east, both on the OST. Camp grounds are free. Cabins are 75c. Now and clean.
TRINITY RIVER. Another of the big flood rivers draining into the gulf.
DAYTON. Cotton, rice, cattle and oil fields. Developing into a busy little town. Lodging. Camp space.
CROSBY. Cotton and general farming. Lodging. Free camp, good shade.
SAN JACINTO RIVER. Private camps. Camp sites by the river.
^HOUSTON. Deep-water sea channel; greatest pore and one of the important railroad centers of the Southwest; oil and cotton exporting and products manufacturing: one of the rich and fast growing cities of Texas. East 25 mi. is San Jacinto Battlefield where Gen. Sam Houston and the Texas patriots defeated Santa Ana and won Texas freedom in 1S3G. Big sulphur mines to the south. Galveston at the gulf. Rice Institute is passed on South Main St., a fine and distinctive college; a drive about the spacious campus will repay. The Gulf Coast Good Roads Ass’n. is proceeding intelligently to tie all East Texas together with a first-class system of highways. This is all good country.
Hotels.—RICE leads, 1,000 rms., well liked; SAM HOUSTON, new, nice, moderate priced; BRISTOL, popular prices, well managed: WARWICK, apartment and transient. near Rice Institute. Cabin camp, Harrisburg Rd., camp space 50c. cabins up to $2.50. Inf.—Motor League of South Texas (AAA) at Bender Hotel, nice service.
SUGAR LAND. This entire community is owned and maintained by the Imperial Sugar Co. and allied interests; It is an interesting study in community development. A
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