Gates Memorial Library

John Gates was born in Turner Junction, Illinois, in 1855 and began selling barbed wire for the Washburn-Moen Company in 1876. He earned the nickname Bet-a-Million by betting on almost anything. He invested in Arthur Stilwell's railroad and later took it over, but his most lucrative investment was Spindletop, which led to the Texas Company. In Port Arthur he paid for docks, the First National Bank, the city's first light, power and ice company and its first rice mill. He died in 1911, and his widow funded the library in memory of him and their son Charles.

What the plaque says

Gates Memorial Library John Warne "Bet a Million" Gates (1855-1911), a native of Illinois, was instrumental in the early growth of Port Arthur. A prominent businessman and financier noted for his promotion of barbed wire, he became a leader in the development of the city founded by Arthur Stilwell, the president of the Kansas City Southern Railroad. Gates was initially attracted to the Port Arthur area by the local oil boom of the early 1900s. As an investor, he figured prominently in the development of the Texas Company, now Texaco. Later a resident of New York, Gates maintained his business and philanthropic interests in Port Arthur with the help of his son Charles. Gate's contributions to the city include Port Arthur Business College, St. Mary's Hospital, and the Plaza Hotel. In 1909 John Gates set aside land at this site for a public library, but initial plans for the project were discontinued after his death in 1911. Planning resumed five years later when it became apparent the public library in the nearby high school could not adequately serve the city. Through the efforts of Gate's widow Dellora (1855- 1918) and local residents, this library was completed in 1917. The following year it was dedicated and deeded to the city. (1981)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Museum of the Gulf Coast — 0.6 mi
  Port Arthur's regional museum in a former bank building: fossils, Native Americans, the petroleum story, a 125-foot history mural and Halls of Fame for musicians, athletes and artists.
• Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Site — 11 mi
  A waterfront park at the mouth of the Sabine where the earthwork of Fort Griffin stood, with a Dowling statue, a Union memorial, wartime magazines and a walkway for fishing.
• Sea Rim State Park — 14 mi
  Texas's far southeast corner: nearly two miles of Gulf shoreline backed by 4,000 acres of marsh, reached by boardwalk or paddle trail, rebuilt after Rita and Ike.
• Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum — 14 mi
  A re-created oil boomtown on the Lamar University campus, with a derrick, period shops, a 1941 granite monument and an optional re-enactment of the January 1901 Lucas gusher.

More markers nearby

• Port Arthur College — steps away
• Arthur Edward Stilwell — steps away
• Federated Women's Clubs of Port Arthur — 0.3 mi
• Pompeiian Villa — 0.4 mi