Beaumont (Texas, USA)

Sister City Agreement/ signed on 20 May 1985 in Beppu
■　Population/  115,500 approximately
■　Area/  78.69 square miles = 126㎢
http://www.cityofbeaumont.com

Geography

Beaumont is located in the east of Texas, along the banks of the lower Neches River, in the Golden Triangle. It takes less than 1 hour from the Silver Sand or the shining Gulf of Mexico.

Climate

Its climate is subtropical. All through the seasons the tourists and the locals enjoy bird watching, fishing, hunting, rowing boat, swimming, camping and all the other activities. It is so warm through the year that one sweater would be enough to wear even in fall and winter.

History

The first visitors to Beaumont were fur trappers from France and Spain in the early 1800’s who settled along the banks of the lower Neches River. In 1835 Beaumont was established, and chartered by the State of Texas in 1838.
By the 1840’s the city became an east Texas lumbering, cattle and timber town. Later, people started to make use of the Neches and the Sabine River with the development of road and railroad. In 1892 some of the businessmen started to drill for oil, and 10 years later, on 10 January 1901, Lucas Gusher blew in at Spindletop, turning Beaumont into the heart of the oil industry of the world. About 600 oil companies were established such as Magnolia Petroleum Co. (the present Mobile), Goffy Petroleum Co. (the present Chevron), Texas Co. (the present Texaco/Star Enterprise) and Standard Oil Co. (the present Exxon). Naturally, the population grew from 10,000 to 50,000 between 1902 and 1903.

Industry

Main Employers
St. Elizabeth Hospital, DuPont (Chemical Products Co.), Huntsman (Chemical Products Co.), Exxon/Mobile (Oil Co.)

Process of making agreement

Mr. Jones, ex-Mayor of Corpus Christi who was stationed in Beppu previously, introduced us to the All US Sister Cities Committee. Proposed by Beaumont in March 1984, we sent a party in advance to Beaumont in October to make an agreement. On 20 May 1985 a delegation from Beaumont was sent to sign up for the Sister City Agreement in Beppu.