[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 67 (Friday, May 22, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5469-S5470]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS--CENTENNIAL RECOGNITION

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, on May 29th, I will be in Port 
Arthur, Texas, helping to celebrate the City of Port Arthur's 
Centennial Day Celebration as well as the tenth anniversary of the 
Golden Triangle Veterans' Memorial Park. Port Arthur, a city born at 
the dawn of the 20th century, enters the 21st century confident in its 
stride as a growing and vibrant community on the Texas' Gulf Coast, not 
far from my home town of La Marque. Port Arthur, a corner of what some 
call Texas' Golden Triangle, plays a key role in our national security 
by contributing to our energy independence through its oil exploration 
and petroleum refining activities. Nearly every American has benefited 
from the products that enter the world market from Port Arthur--
petrochemicals and oil in particular.
  The City of Port Arthur is named for Arthur E. Stillwell, originally 
of Rochester, New York. In 1895, Mr. Stillwell was searching for a site 
for the southern terminal of his proposed railroad from Kansas City to 
the Gulf of Mexico. He chose a site on the north shore of Lake Sabine, 
where Port Arthur stands today. The railroad to Port Arthur, which 
eventually became known

[[Page S5470]]

as the Kansas City Southern Railroad, was completed in 1897. The city 
of Port Arthur was incorporated on May 30, 1898, one hundred years ago 
this month.
  The next year, the original ship canal to the Gulf was opened. Today, 
cargo tonnage out of the Port of Port Arthur averages about 23,000,000 
tons per year. But it was on January 10, 1901, that the destiny of Port 
Arthur changed forever when a well dug by Anthony Lucas at Spindletop, 
only ten miles away from Port Arthur, struck black gold. Nearly a 
million barrels of crude oil are refined in the area daily, justifying 
Port Arthur's claim--``We Oil the World.''
  Today, Port Arthur is the home of three major refineries and the 
still important terminus of the Kansas City Southern railroad. The town 
of one thousand people a hundred years ago has grown to almost 60,000, 
and a diverse economy guarantees Port Arthur's growth into its second 
century. In addition to its energy industries, Port Arthur has become a 
year-round fisherman's paradise where thousands of anglers catch more 
than twenty-five varieties of freshwater and saltwater fish. Other 
popular local attractions include the Museum of the Gulf Coast, the 
McFaddin and Texas Point National Wildlife Refuges, the Sabine Pass 
Battleground State Historical Park, and Sea Rim State Park.
  I'd like to talk for a moment about the tenth anniversary of the 
Golden Triangle Veterans' Memorial Park, which we will also be 
celebrating next week. This is the only park in the United States that 
recognizes all veterans, including those that served during times of 
peace. It was built by members of the community, financed and 
constructed through donations and over 55,000 volunteer man-hours. The 
park contains walls of honor for all our nation's past wars. The park's 
ten-year anniversary celebration is part of a week's worth of 
activities recognizing the Port Arthur Centennial.
  I want to congratulate Jefferson County Judge Carl Griffith, Port 
Arthur Mayor Robert Morgan, Jr., and the people of Port Arthur on this 
historic occasion. Together, we look forward to what their community 
will accomplish in the next 100 years.

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