Arthur Edward Stilwell
Port Arthur, Jefferson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Son of Charles H. and Mary Stilwell, was born on October 21, 1859, in Rochester, New York. Young Arthur was greatly influenced by his grandfather, railroad builder Hamlin Stilwell, and according to family tradition vowed to be a railroad builder himself one day. He married Virginian Jennie A. Wood in 1879 and after many business successes set his sights on building a railroad system from the farming region of the midwestern U.S. to the Texas Gulf Coast. Stilwell established the town of Port Arthur here on 4,000 acres in 1895. He later extended the Kansas City, Pittsburg, and Gulf Railroad from Shreveport south through western Louisiana to its terminus at Port Arthur. To promote settlement of the area Stilwell established a successful experimental farm, drilled water wells, and built a hotel, indoor swimming pool, and pleasure pier. In 1897 Port Arthur contained about 1,100 inhabitants. by 1900 Stilwell had completed a canal from Mesquite Point (7 miles south at Sabine Pass) to substantial port facilities at Port Arthur. By fulfilling a childhood dream Arthur Stilwell not only founded the town of Port Arthur but in large measure laid the foundation for its future prosperity. Stilwell died on September 26, 1928, and was cremated. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845 - 1995
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Inspired by his railroad-building grandfather, Rochester-born Arthur Stilwell dreamed of a line linking the midwestern farm belt to the Gulf. In 1895 he laid out the town of Port Arthur on 4,000 acres and pushed the Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf Railroad south to reach it, then drew settlers with an experimental farm, water wells, a hotel, and a pleasure pier. By 1900 he had cut a canal to deep-water port facilities, giving the young town its outlet to the sea.
Why it matters
Stilwell's railroad-and-port venture turned raw coastal prairie into a Gulf shipping hub, a classic example of how a single promoter's transportation scheme could conjure an American city into being.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Pompeiian Villa
Port Arthur, TX
The Pompeiian Villa is the last survivor of the "dream city" that railroad magnate Arthur E. Stilwell envisioned for Port Arthur at the turn of the century. Built in 1900 as a winter resort home for barbed-wire developer Isaac L. Ellwood, it stood near a mansion of the gambler-financier John W. "Bet-A-Million" Gates. In 1903 it passed to Port Arthur developer George M. Craig, reportedly traded for a ten-percent stake in the company that became Texaco.
The Kansas City Southern Railway in Port Arthur
Port Arthur, TX
When Arthur Stilwell dreamed up the shortest rail line from Kansas City to the Gulf in the 1890s, Port Arthur was born as its salt-water terminus, platted in 1895 before the tracks were even finished. A stucco-and-red-tile depot rose here in 1897, and excursion trains soon poured developers, investors, and would-be residents into the raw new town while a freshly dug canal linked it to Sabine Pass and the sea. For seven decades the depot anchored passenger life until long-distance service ended in 1968 and the building came down in 1969.
Sabine-Neches Canal
Port Arthur, TX
Linking the Gulf of Mexico to the ports of Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange, the Sabine-Neches Canal grew out of an 1898 act of Congress and the earlier success of the Port Arthur Canal. Construction began around 1908 and took two years, connecting the waterway to the Intracoastal Waterway that runs from Brownsville to New Jersey; residents pushed to route it apart from Sabine Lake, hoping its levees would shield them from tropical storms. Later flood-control work, including a 1929 seawall system and an elevated levee drive, grew up along the historic channel.
The Woodworth House
Port Arthur, TX
Built in 1906 for banker and civic leader R. H. Woodworth, this Classical Revival mansion—known as Rose Hill—rose on the edge of the brand-new town of Port Arthur, founded a decade earlier by railroad man Arthur Stilwell. Woodworth had come from Chicago with his bride Mary, entered real estate and banking, and served as the city's third mayor in 1902. With its columned portico and wide verandas, the home hosted the couple's social gatherings until Mary's daughter Phebe gave it to the city in 1947 to serve as a community center.