Jefferson County, Texas

Captain Charles Welhausen of Fort Manhassett, Sabine Pass, Texas leading Creuzbauer's Battery to the Battle of Calcasieu Pass, LA.  From an oil painting owned by Ray Welhausen, Shiner, TX.

Most people would agree that the repulse of an invasion fleet in 1863 and the oil eruption at Spindletop in 1901 were the two outstanding historical events in Jefferson County’s history. Each event has spawned volumes of history. In a sense, each occurrence marked the decline of an old order. The outcome of the Civil War ended slavery and witnessed the regression of the cattle industry. Gradually, the new lumber and sawmill barons replaced the stockmen as Jefferson County’s economic backbone. As the virgin forests vanished and petroleum was discovered, the process of economic transition began anew.