Deer Park
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member sharpbiker
N 29° 41.956 W 095° 07.461
15R E 294472 N 3287350
History of the City of Deer Park, in Harris County.
Waymark Code: WMKN4
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 08/10/2006
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member clayj
Views: 14

In a park-like lawn between the municipal courthouse and Center Street. Southwest of the intersection of Center and 13th Street. Parking available on Center.
Marker Number: 10647

Marker Text:

Illinois native Simeon Henry West (1827-1920) settled in this vicinity in 1892 hoping to develop the area, with its mild climate and proximity to waterways, into a farming and trading center. By the year's end, he had purchased property and platted the town of Deer Park, naming it after a nearby private park inhabited by many deer. After completing the Deer Park Hotel in 1893, West marketed his development primarily to Northerners. More than ninety settlers moved here, attracted by the prospects for fruit and tobacco farming and the trade links to the Houston & Northern Railway and Houston's waterways that West was developing.

The promising town was nearly destroyed in the hurricane of 1900, after which every family except one returned North. A few people moved to Deer Park in later years. In 1905, the Edwin Rice Brown family leased as their family home the Deer Park Hotel, the focal point of area social life. However, the town's population remained very small.

Not until 1928, when Shell Chemical Company relocated here, did a new period of growth begin. Deer Park's business district, churches, and schools were reestablished, and in 1948 the citizens of Deer Park voted to incorporate. (1992)



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Recent Visits/Logs:
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jhuoni visited Deer Park 08/13/2019 jhuoni visited it
TheMarkerFinder visited Deer Park 05/07/2015 TheMarkerFinder visited it
WTT-B2 visited Deer Park 05/18/2009 WTT-B2 visited it
ggmorton visited Deer Park 09/09/2006 ggmorton visited it
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