Editing Port Neches, Texas (section)

== History ==

[[File:Grigsby's Bluff Jail, Port Neches, Texas.jpg|thumb|220px|right|Grigsby's Bluff Jail, Port Neches]]
The area known as Port Neches was once inhabited by tribes of the coastal-dwelling Karankawa and [[Atakapa]] Native Americans. Smith's Bluff (the future site of [[Sun Oil]] and [[Union Oil]] of California riverside property) and Grigsby's Bluff (now Port Neches) were the only two high land bluffs on the [[Neches River]] south of Beaumont, whose name is believed to have been derived from the [[Caddo people|Caddo]] word "Nachawi", meaning "wood of the bow", after Spanish settlers called it ''Río Neches''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sherrysharp.com/myhomepg/neches-history.htm#:~:text=The%20Neches%20River%20gained%20its,Indian%20population%20to%20its%20peak.|title = Neches River-History and Culture}}</ref> Before 1780, Grigsby's Bluff, specifically that part of Port Neches immediately east of Port Neches Park, had been a Native American town for at least 1,500 years, at first of the Karankawa tribe, whose {{convert|7|ft|cm|adj=on}} skeletons were often found in the burial mounds there; and after 1650 of the Nacazils, a sub-tribe of the Attakapas, who were a short and stocky people before their extinction about 1780. As of 1841, there were six large burial mounds at Grigsby's Bluff, size about {{convert|60|ft}} wide, {{convert|20|ft}} tall, and {{convert|100|yd}} long, consisting entirely of clam and sea shells, skeletons, pottery shards, and other Native American artifacts. Between 1841 and 1901, all six of the mounds disappeared, a result of human actions. Grigsby's Bluff became a post office in 1859 (there was also a store and sawmill there), but the office was discontinued in 1893.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wtblock.com/wtblockjr/smith.htm |title=Smith's Bluff and Grigsby's Bluff, Texas |publisher=Wtblock.com |access-date=2011-09-02}}</ref>

Port Neches was the site of Fort Grigsby, a set of [[American Civil War|Civil War]]-era defenses intended to stop a [[Union Army|Union]] advance up the Neches River. The fort was constructed in October 1862 and abandoned sometime after July 1863. Its guns, munitions, and stores were moved to the then-unfinished Fort Griffin,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wtblock.com/wtblockjr/fort2.htm |title=Where Was Fort Grigsby? Historian May Have Answer |publisher=Wtblock.com |date=1970-11-23 |access-date=2011-09-02}}</ref> the site of the [[Second Battle of Sabine Pass]], often credited as the most one-sided Confederate victory of the American Civil War.

A pioneer of Port Neches was Will Block Sr., born on August 2, 1870. In 2003, his son, W. T. Block Jr., was appointed a Knight of the [[Order of Orange-Nassau|Royal Order of Orange-Nassau]] for his work in reconstructing the history of Dutch settlers in the area.<ref>Christine Rappleye. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BT&p_theme=bt&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FB5DD16C7B842E4&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "That's 'Sir' W.T. Block to you guys"]. ''The Beaumont Enterprise''. May 29, 2003.</ref>

The city of Port Neches was incorporated in April 1927.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}}

The greater Neches River Basin is an attraction for fishing, hunting, birding, and boating.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ci.port-neches.tx.us/about/ |title=About Port Neches |publisher=Ci.port-neches.tx.us |date=2010-06-22 |access-date=2011-09-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110704014602/http://www.ci.port-neches.tx.us/about/ |archive-date=2011-07-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[TPC Group]]'s [[Port Arthur Refinery]], a [[chemical plant|chemical processing facility]], was opened in 1944 by Neches Butane Products Co.<ref name="Ent">{{cite news |author1=Jacob Dick |author2=Kim Brent |author3=Monique Batson |author4=Ronnie Crocker |author5=Kaitlin Bain |url=https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/The-latest-Explosion-at-Port-Neches-plant-14866093.php |title=SE Texas town rocked by chemical plant explosion |newspaper=Beaumont Enterprise |date=November 27, 2019 }}</ref> On November 27, 2019, two [[explosions]] occurred at the plant injuring at least eight people, three of them plant workers who were treated in hospital. Several buildings, including homes, were damaged in Port Neches and the surrounding area.<ref name="Ent" /><ref>{{cite news |title=3 hurt at Texas chemical plant hit by 2 massive explosions |url=https://miamiherald.com/latest-news/article237822334.html |access-date=November 28, 2019 |newspaper=[[Miami Herald]] |date=November 27, 2019}}</ref> The blasts started a chemical fire that prompted a mandatory [[emergency evacuation|evacuation]] of approximately 60,000 residents from several nearby cities. The fire was finally put out on December 3 after burning for six days. The next day air monitors posted elevated levels of [[butadiene]], prompting a second evacuation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Massive Explosion Rips Through Texas Chemical Plant |url=https://npr.org/2019/11/27/783263942/massive-explosion-rips-through-texas-chemical-plant |access-date=2020-12-09 |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=27 November 2019 |language=en |last=Kennedy|first=Merrit}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=New evacuation order for Texas city hit by explosion, chemical fire |language=en |date=2019-12-05 |publisher=[[Reuters]] |url=https://msn.com/en-us/news/us/new-evacuation-order-for-texas-city-hit-by-explosion-chemical-fire/ar-BBXMCQ4?ocid=spartanntp}}</ref> The explosions occurred just days after the U.S. [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|EPA]] eased chemical plant safety regulations.<ref>{{cite web |title=EPA finalizes rule easing chemical plant safety regulations |language=en |website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |first=Miranda|last=Green |date=2019-11-21 |url=https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/471510-epa-finalizes-rule-easing-chemical-plant-safety}}</ref>