Port Arthur-Beaumont Interurban Railway

The local history blog Rediscovering Southeast Texas says Stone and Webster bought the Beaumont Traction Company in July 1913, getting 12 miles of track, overhead electric lines, 20 passenger cars and a car barn. The first interurban run was December 15, 1913. The route had 10 stops, among them South Park, Spindletop, Nederland, Rice Farm and Griffing, and ran 19 trips a day from about 5:45 in the morning to midnight. A December 1924 ice storm damaged the lines and halted service until repairs were made.

What the plaque says

Port Arthur-Beaumont Interurban Railway Port Arthur-Beaumont Interurban Railway Electric railways known as Interurbans existed in Texas from 1901 until the 1940s to provide frequent opportunities for the public to travel between urban centers. Interurban service between Beaumont and Port Arthur began on December 16, 1913, lasting until competition from automobiles and buses caused passenger use of the rail line to decline. The Jefferson County Traction Company and the Beaumont Traction Company, subsidiaries of the East Texas Electric Company, owned and operated the Port Arthur-Beaumont Interurban Railway. Tickets were 90 cents for a round trip. Passengers departed from Port Arthur at a terminal station and maintenance facility at this site and could board or get off the interurban at any of 10 stops along the route. The electric rail cars seated 48 people, but often there were many more on board. The cars could also be chartered for group trips and were popular for weekend excursions. The interurban service was used to evacuate Port Arthur citizens fleeing the 1915 hurricane until the high water caused a power failure. Some passengers were stranded in the cars for 12 hours. The last recorded trip of the Port Arthur-Beaumont Interurban was August 15, 1932. By that time, private automobiles had become the more popular mode of transportation, while increased consumption and new demands for electricity more than made up for the electric company's loss of the interurban's need for electric power. (2002)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Museum of the Gulf Coast — steps away
  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 — 10 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 — 13 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

• Francis John (Frank) Trost (June 24, 1868 - August 4, 1944) — 0.2 mi
• Arthur Edward Stilwell — 0.6 mi
• St. Paul United Methodist Church — 0.7 mi
• Port Arthur College — 0.7 mi