Arthur E. Stilwell, at age 34 and a legendary pioneer in the fields of insurance, transportation, and finance, came to the southeastern coast of Texas in 1895. Stilwell "had a hunch" and upon advice of his "Brownies", built the Port Arthur Canal from Sabine Pass to Taylor's Bayou. He created a deep-water port, "a landlocked harbour, safe from the most devastating storms," which he named after himself, "Port Arthur." Stilwell proceeded to procure over $2 million in financing and on March 17, 1897, the first excursion train arrived over the newly completed Kansas City, Pittsburg, & Gulf Railroad. The Port was opened for sea-going shipping with the arrival of the British steamer Saint Oswald in August 1899. Stilwell founded the City of Port Arthur in 1898.

Port Arthur pioneers promptly set to work to build homes and businesses for the hundreds of people who would come to Southeast Texas...farmers, seamen, businessmen, and their families. Stilwell built the spectacular Sabine Hotel on Lakeshore Drive, a natatorium to serve all the citizens, an Export Pier into Lake Sabine and brought 300 Dutch colonists to begin a new life as farmers in this rich coastal prairie.

In 1899, Stilwell invited his friend, John W. Gates, to visit Port Arthur. Gates was feted at a sumptuous banquet in the Sabine Hotel and quickly decided that he, too, wanted to have an interest in the development of this new and promising town. Upon being denied a position on the Board of the KCP&G Railroad, he, by questionable means, had Stilwell's interest declared bankrupt and Gates made himself President of the newly named Kansas City Southern Railroad. With this inauspicious beginning, Gates became the moving force in the development of Port Arthur. Aided by the effects of the Spindletop Gusher in 1901, he built the Mart Gates Hospital in 1909 and founded the Port Arthur Business College the same year (now Lamar State College-Port Arthur.) Gates built a magnificent home on Lakeshore Drive at a cost of $50,000.

The Texas Company and the Gulf Refining Company were created as a result of the Lucas Gusher at Spindletop in 1901. The thriving shipping industry was instrumental in Port Arthur's becoming a Port of Entry in 1906. By 1947, Port Arthur was known as the center of the world's prosperous oil refining facilities. Today, Port Arthur has a large, diversified and talented work force.

The first school district in Texas to adopt a twelve-grade system, the Port Arthur Independent School District set the pace for all Texas schools to follow. Parochial and private schools are also in the area.

A city manager-council form of government guides the City and the area is home to more than one hundred churches. The population is made up of many ethnic groups, each contributing their own specific talents and lifestyles to the area. There are two hospitals in Port Arthur, Christus St. Mary Hospital, and Park Place Medical Center.

Notable citizens of Port Arthur have left their impact on the country -- Mildred "Babe" Didrikson, Robert Rauschenberg, Alan Shivers, Jimmy Johnson, Janis Joplin, Evelyn Keyes, Buddy Benz, Mack H. Hannah, Jr., G. W. Bailey, Andrew Green, and many others. These notable citizens are honored in the wonderful Museum of the Gulf Coast in downtown Port Arthur.