Port Arthur, city, Jefferson County, southeastern Texas, a major deepwater port on Sabine Lake, near Louisiana; settled about 1835, incorporated 1898. Linked to the Gulf of Mexico by the Sabine-Neches Canal (completed 1899), it is a major petroleum-shipping port; manufactures include refined petroleum, petrochemicals, and ships. A junior college is here. Pleasure Island, in Sabine Lake, is a nearby recreation area. Port Arthur was founded in 1895 by Arthur E. Stilwell, who selected the site as the southern terminus of his Kansas City Southern Railway; the community is named for him. In 1901 oil was discovered nearby, at Spindletop, and subsequently the financier John W. Gates, known as “Bet-a-Million Gates,” helped develop Port Arthur. Population 61,251 (1980); 58,724 (1990); 57,755 (2000).
