Timeline
180 dated entries, 1810 to 2025. Each line links to where it was read — the Handbook of Texas, the city, the county, the marker files. Where the year is a range or a season, that is what the source said.
1810
First recorded burial in the Cedar Bayou area.
Cedar Bayou · tshaonline.org
1822
Nathaniel Lynch established the ferry crossing later associated with the Baytown area.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
Nathaniel Lynch established Lynch’s Ferry at the junction of the San Jacinto River and Buffalo Bayou.
Lynchburg · tshaonline.org
1824
William Scott, one of Stephen F. Austin’s Old Three Hundred, received a grant covering most of present Baytown.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
John D. Taylor settled opposite Lynch’s Ferry at Midway; Baron de Bastrop and Stephen F. Austin issued land titles there.
Lynchburg · tshaonline.org
1831
David G. Burnet placed a boiler and steam engine at Lynchburg.
Lynchburg · tshaonline.org
1834–1835
Nathaniel Lynch divided part of his land into blocks and platted Lynchburg; expected settlers did not arrive.
Lynchburg · tshaonline.org
1835
A post office was established at Lynchburg.
Lynchburg · tshaonline.org
1840
Lynchburg population was reported as 205.
Lynchburg · tshaonline.org
1843
The Lynchburg post office was discontinued.
Lynchburg · tshaonline.org
1844
A Methodist church was organized at Cedar Bayou.
Cedar Bayou · tshaonline.org
1845
Cedar Bayou’s first school was founded.
Cedar Bayou · tshaonline.org
1847
Ashbel Smith purchased the Evergreen plantation on Tabbs Bay.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
1850
The community continued as a shipping point for bricks and other materials moving to Galveston Bay.
Cedar Bayou · tshaonline.org
early 1850s
John and Thomas S. Chubb established a shipyard at the mouth of Goose Creek.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
1861
Ashbel Smith organized the Bayland Guards for Confederate service.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
1864
The Chubb shipyard launched the blockade-running vessel Bagdad.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
1867
Ashbel Smith and associates founded the Bayland Orphans’ Home for children of Confederate soldiers.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
1870
A Masonic lodge was started at Cedar Bayou; the Lynchburg post office was reestablished.
Cedar Bayou · tshaonline.org
1871
John Peter Sjolander arrived in Cedar Bayou from Sweden.
Cedar Bayou · tshaonline.org
1880
Cedar Bayou school enrollment was recorded as 30 students.
Cedar Bayou · tshaonline.org
1884
Baptist and Christian churches had been organized in Cedar Bayou.
Cedar Bayou · tshaonline.org
1888
The Bayland Orphans’ Home moved to Houston.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
1890
Cedar Bayou had about 200 people, three general stores, mills/gins, and two brick manufacturers.
Cedar Bayou · tshaonline.org
The Mont Belvieu post office opened.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
1892
Lynchburg was reported to have only a saloon and two general stores.
Lynchburg · tshaonline.org
1900
Cedar Bayou school enrollment was 60 students with two teachers.
Cedar Bayou · tshaonline.org
early 1900s
Goose Creek’s first permanent settlement was established; rice farming and cattle raising remained principal occupations.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
Lynchburg population was about 150.
Lynchburg · tshaonline.org
1903
John I. Gaillard observed gas bubbles at Goose Creek’s mouth and confirmed natural gas.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
1905
Cedar Bayou had separate Black and White schools.
Cedar Bayou · tshaonline.org
Wildcat drilling was occurring at Goose Creek.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
Local schools reported 31 White pupils and four Black pupils.
Lynchburg · tshaonline.org
1908
An oil strike was made beside Tabbs Bay after two unsuccessful attempts.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
Goose Creek Production Company found oil on June 2 at 1,600 feet in the bay marsh.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
1908–1910
Producers Oil Company drilled 20 dry holes over two years and abandoned the field.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
1913
Goose Creek received a post office.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
1914
Goose Creek was described as a boat landing with about 300 people and five businesses.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
1915
The Goose Creek oilfield opened and the Old Town oil boomtown grew up.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
A well explosion buried Old Town, prompting residents to move inland.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
1916
The inland settlement first called Newtown adopted the name Goose Creek.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
August 23, 1916
Charles Mitchell brought in a gusher at 2,017 feet; it initially produced about 8,000 barrels per day.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
December 1916
Drilling along Goose Creek, Tabbs Bay, and Black Duck Bay raised production to about 5,000 barrels per day.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
A union local was organized in Goose Creek ahead of the Texas–Louisiana oilfield strike.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
1917
Ross S. Sterling and associates founded Humble Oil and selected the Baytown refinery site.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
Ross S. Sterling and Price Pruett organized the Goose Creek and Dayton Railroad.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
Humble bought Southern Pipe Line and built two 7,000-foot lines to channel storage and a wharf.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
Middle Town grew inland after oilfield workers and families settled near Fred T. Pelly’s land.
Pelly · tshaonline.org
August 4, 1917
Simms-Sinclair’s Sweet 16 came in at 3,050 feet, flowing about 35,000 barrels per day.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
November 1, 1917
About 2,000 Goose Creek workers joined a multistate oilfield walkout.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
1918
The average Goose Creek well drilled in 1917 was reported at 1,181 barrels per day.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
Sterling laid out a 100-acre Goose Creek townsite with brick/plaster construction requirements.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
The Goose Creek Gasser, first Tri-Cities newspaper, began as a weekly.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
Goose Creek field reached peak annual production of 8,923,635 barrels.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
Commercial production began at the Barbers Hill oilfield.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
1919
Humble began construction of the Baytown refinery in fall 1919 on about 2,200 acres.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
The Goose Creek and Dayton Railroad was completed through Mont Belvieu.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
April 1919
Goose Creek municipal government began with W. B. Bussey as first mayor; a volunteer fire department followed.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
January 28, 1919
Goose Creek citizens voted to incorporate.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
New Town residents incorporated under the name Goose Creek and requested a post office.
Pelly · tshaonline.org
late 1919
Residents moved the small frame post office from Middle Town to New Town by wagon overnight.
Pelly · tshaonline.org
1920
The refinery began with 10,000 barrels-per-day capacity and about 100 refinery personnel.
Goose Creek · corporate.exxonmobil.com
Mont Belvieu population was estimated at 20.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
January 19, 1920
Middle Town incorporated as Pelly; population was reported at 7,500.
Pelly · tshaonline.org
late 1920s
Deep drilling found large additional oil quantities at greater depths.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
1921
The Goose Creek Chamber of Commerce was organized.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
April 21, 1921
The Humble refinery was completed beside the Goose Creek field and the plant and townsite were named Baytown.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
August 21, 1921
Goose Creek ISD was formed, with district offices in Goose Creek.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
June 18, 1921
A theater and revival tent burned in a major group fire; several businesses were badly damaged.
Pelly · baytown.org
1922
The Mont Belvieu townsite plat was filed in May.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
1923
Humble made the refinery community permanent by laying out streets, providing utilities, selling lots, and financing employee homes.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
1924
A cotton gin began operating at Mont Belvieu.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
1925
Goose Creek’s electric power system was sold to Houston Lighting and Power.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
1926
Lynchburg population was reported as 100; it remained at that level through 1965.
Lynchburg · tshaonline.org
1927
Goose Creek built a city hall and adopted home rule.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
Lynchburg’s post office ceased operation; mail was delivered from Pasadena.
Lynchburg · tshaonline.org
1928
Goose Creek adopted the manager form of government.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
The Goose Creek Gasser became the Daily Tribune.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
1929
Pelly population fell to about 4,000 as oil production declined.
Pelly · tshaonline.org
1930
Goose Creek field production had declined from its 1918 peak.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
The first Gulf Coast well producing from below a salt dome was brought in at Barbers Hill below 5,000 feet.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
1931
Great Depression pressure forced Tri-Cities papers to consolidate; the Daily Sun began.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
Barbers Hill annual production peaked at 8,085,278 barrels.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
1932
The weekly Mont Belvieu Citizen closed.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
1934
Goose Creek ISD voted to establish Lee Junior College.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
February 24, 1934
Goose Creek ISD voters authorized Lee Junior College.
Baytown · lee.edu
June 18, 1934
The Baytown Volunteer Fire Department held its first meeting.
Baytown · baytown.org
September 1934
Lee Junior College opened with 177 students in Robert E. Lee High School.
Baytown · lee.edu
1935
The Mont Belvieu cotton gin ceased operation.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
May 24, 1935
Lee Junior College held its first graduation; four women received diplomas.
Baytown · lee.edu
1936
Lee College added noncredit technical-vocational education.
Baytown · lee.edu
1940
Mont Belvieu population was estimated at about 500.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
1943
Goose Creek field production was reported at 388,250 barrels for the year.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
December 7, 1945
Pelly adopted home rule and annexed the contiguous unincorporated Baytown community.
Pelly · tshaonline.org
1946
Humble purchased the government-owned Baytown Ordnance Works for $7 million.
Baytown · corporate.exxonmobil.com
1947
Cedar Bayou reported about 500 people and five businesses.
Cedar Bayou · tshaonline.org
February 15, 1947
Pelly and Goose Creek voters approved consolidation and favored the name Baytown.
Pelly · tshaonline.org
spring 1947
A special federal census counted Pelly/old Baytown at 11,030 and Goose Creek at 9,928.
Pelly · tshaonline.org
1948
Baytown population was reported as 20,958.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
Lee College became the institution’s name and received SACS accreditation.
Baytown · lee.edu
Goose Creek ceased to exist as a separate town after consolidation.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
January 24, 1948
Voters approved a new charter and the Tri-Cities became the City of Baytown.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
August 17, 1949
The local newspaper changed its name from the Daily Sun to The Baytown Sun.
Baytown · texashistory.unt.edu
1950
Baytown population was recorded as 22,983.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
Mont Belvieu population was recorded as 500.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
late 1950s
Baytown refinery capacity rose to about 300,000 barrels per day.
Baytown · corporate.exxonmobil.com
1951
Lee College moved to a separate campus.
Baytown · lee.edu
Barbers Hill production exceeded two million barrels and cumulative output exceeded 95 million barrels.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
1953
The tunnel was designed as a roughly 3,000-foot portal-to-portal crossing.
Baytown · onlinepubs.trb.org
September 22, 1953
The Baytown–La Porte underwater vehicular tunnel opened beneath the Houston Ship Channel.
Baytown · onlinepubs.trb.org
1955
Cedar Bayou was annexed by Baytown.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
1957
The Baytown refinery commissioned its first hydrodesulfurization plant.
Baytown · corporate.exxonmobil.com
1960
Mont Belvieu population was recorded as 500.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
1961
Hurricane Carla highlighted tides and subsidence around Brownwood and the waterfront.
Baytown · houstonhistorymagazine.org
1965
Lee College separated from Goose Creek ISD; its first Board of Regents assumed governance August 18.
Baytown · lee.edu
Goose Creek field production was reported at 2,146,450 barrels.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
1966
Dr. Richard Strahan became Lee College’s first full-time president.
Baytown · lee.edu
1970
United States Steel opened Texas Works near Baytown, employing more than 2,000 at peak.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
Baytown population was recorded as 43,980.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
Cedar Bayou Masonic Lodge No. 321 historical marker was recorded.
Cedar Bayou · atlas.thc.texas.gov
Mont Belvieu had incorporated; population was 1,144.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
1971
The Bayer/Covestro Baytown site began operations.
Baytown · covestro.com
1972
Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) became Exxon Corporation; the Humble name ended in this transition.
Baytown · atlas.thc.texas.gov
1974
Oil was discovered at Barbers Hill deeper than 10,000 feet.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
May 1977
Baytown Fuels Expansion came online; refinery capacity reached about 640,000 barrels per day.
Baytown · corporate.exxonmobil.com
1980
Baytown population was recorded as 56,923.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
Mont Belvieu population was recorded as 1,730.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
1981
San Jacinto Mall opened March 4 as a regional shopping center.
Baytown · baytown.org
1983
Baytown Refinery Upgrade Project was approved to convert residuum oil into cleaner products.
Baytown · corporate.exxonmobil.com
FEMA and Baytown began buying out many Brownwood properties for public open space after Alicia.
Baytown · houstonhistorymagazine.org
August 18, 1983
Hurricane Alicia devastated Brownwood; rebuilding was subsequently restricted.
Baytown · houstonhistorymagazine.org
1984
Goose Creek field production was reported at 366,225 barrels.
Goose Creek · tshaonline.org
Barbers Hill cumulative oil output reached nearly 130 million barrels by year-end.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
1985
About 200 families had been bought out by a dozen petrochemical corporations by 1990.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
November 5, 1985
An explosion killed two workers near the salt dome and intensified resident demands for industrial buyouts.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
1986
The Baytown Refinery Upgrade Project was completed.
Baytown · corporate.exxonmobil.com
Republic of Texas Plaza was dedicated March 2 for the Texas sesquicentennial.
Baytown · historicalcommission.harriscountytx.gov
July 1986
United States Steel Texas Works closed.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
1989
Humble Oil & Refining Company historical marker was recorded at the refinery entrance.
Baytown · atlas.thc.texas.gov
Bell Prairie homesite of Henry F. Gillette historical marker was recorded.
Baytown · atlas.thc.texas.gov
1990
Baytown population was recorded as 63,843.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
William Scott homesite (Point Pleasant) historical marker was recorded.
Baytown · atlas.thc.texas.gov
The rebuilt Mont Belvieu community recorded 1,323 inhabitants.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
New city hall, churches, and a public school were built two miles east of the 1985 site.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
Barbers Hill field production in 192 wells was 742,934 barrels.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
1991
TRB documented the Fred Hartman bridge design with 1,250-foot main spans and 175-foot navigation clearance.
Baytown · onlinepubs.trb.org
1992
Baytown had 23 public schools, Lee College, 67 churches, hospitals, a daily newspaper, and a large mall.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
1994
Baytown began the Brownwood Marsh Restoration Project.
Baytown · baytown.org
1995
Friends of the Baytown Nature Center was founded.
Baytown · baytown.org
The bridge was described as having twin 436-foot towers and about 262 feet of vertical clearance.
Baytown · wbctx.com
September 27, 1995
Fred Hartman Bridge opened/dedicated, carrying SH 146 between Baytown and La Porte and replacing the tunnel.
Baytown · wbctx.com
2000
Baytown population was recorded as 66,430.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
Cedar Bayou population remained about 1,287.
Cedar Bayou · tshaonline.org
Mont Belvieu population was recorded as 2,324.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
May 19, 2002
Baytown Nature Center opened on the former Brownwood peninsula; over 325 former residents attended a reunion.
Baytown · houstonhistorymagazine.org
2004
Downtown Master Plan, adopted September 9, envisioned the Arts, Culture, and Entertainment (ACE) District.
Baytown · bpdcareers.org
2008
Hurricane Ike caused surge damage around Lakewood and Bayland Marina and temporarily shut the ExxonMobil refinery.
Baytown · houstonhistorymagazine.org
2009
Cedar Bayou population was estimated at 1,555.
Cedar Bayou · tshaonline.org
2010
Baytown population was recorded as 71,802.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
George Washington Carver High School historical marker was recorded by THC.
Baytown · atlas.thc.texas.gov
2011
Lee College received an Official Texas Historical Marker.
Baytown · atlas.thc.texas.gov
2012
Bayland Orphans Home historical marker was recorded by THC.
Baytown · atlas.thc.texas.gov
2015
ExxonMobil completed a major Baytown refinery base-stock expansion.
Baytown · exxonmobil.com
Bayer MaterialScience was spun off and the site became part of Covestro.
Baytown · covestro.com
Fidelis Partners purchased the San Jacinto Mall site for redevelopment planning.
Baytown · baytown.org
2017
The ACE District nonprofit was formed to promote downtown revitalization.
Baytown · bpdcareers.org
Chevron Phillips Chemical’s Cedar Bayou ethane cracker reached mechanical completion.
Baytown · cpchem.com
2018
The City of Baytown historical marker was recorded at Town Square.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
Covestro announced an approximately €1.5 billion world-scale MDI investment.
Baytown · chemengonline.com
2019
Baytown population was 81,859 in the TSHA population series.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
2020
Baytown population was 83,701.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
Mont Belvieu population was 7,654.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
2021
Baytown population was 82,480.
Baytown · tshaonline.org
Chevron Phillips Chemical announced an investment decision for a C3 splitter at Cedar Bayou.
Baytown · cpchem.com
Mont Belvieu population was 8,337.
Mont Belvieu · tshaonline.org
2022
ExxonMobil’s Baytown complex started an advanced recycling facility.
Baytown · corporate.exxonmobil.com
2023
ExxonMobil announced startup of two chemical production units after a $2 billion expansion.
Baytown · corporate.exxonmobil.com
ExxonMobil described the refinery at about 588,000 barrels per day and complex at about 3,400 acres.
Baytown · corporate.exxonmobil.com
2025
ExxonMobil announced a planned Baytown reconfiguration targeted for 2028, including Group III base stocks and more diesel flexibility.
Baytown · corporate.exxonmobil.com
Chevron Phillips Chemical’s Cedar Bayou fact sheet described the continuing integrated petrochemical complex.
Baytown · cpchem.com
Years the research found nothing for: 1811–1821; 1825–1830; 1836–1843 outside Lynchburg post-office record; 1848–1849; 1851–1860; 1865–1866; 1868–1869; 1872–1879; 1881–1883; 1885–1887; 1891; 1893–1899; 1901–1902; 1904; 1906–1907; 1909–1912; 1937–1939; 1941–1942; 1952; 1954; 1956; 1958–1959; 1962–1964; 1967–1969; 1973; 1975–1976; 1978–1979; 1982; 1987–1988; 1993; 1996–1999; 2001; 2003; 2005–2007; 2013–2014; 2016; 2024; 2026 (research cutoff; no new event asserted)