by Rachel Stockton

Created on: November 05, 2008   Last Updated: December 05, 2008

One would be remiss in writing of the history of Clear Lake City, TX without mentioning James Marion West, cattle baron of East Texas. West had been born in Mississippi in 1871; he came to Texas with his family when he was nine years old. Going to work as a water-boy at the age of 13, West's scrappy beginnings coupled with his success as a Texas business legend, rancher and oilman constitute the stuff legends are made of.

Nicknamed "Silver Dollar Jim" because of his propensity to throw coins to passersby, West owned a fleet of 30 Cadillacs which he kept in downtown Houston. Each car had an arsenal of 30-35 guns; certainly Jim West was the quintessential, stereotypical eccentric oilman.

Initially, however, West made his fortune in lumber, forming the West Lumber Company, which prospered during World War I. When the first Great War was over, he began to diversify by investing in ranches and cattle throughout the state.

He invested in a number of Longhorn cattle, establishing his reputation throughout Texas during the 1920s. After returning from a trip to Europe in 1924, West built a forty room mansion for his family on property he owned on Clear Creek. The Italian Renaissance- style, palatial home was the talk of Southeast Texas.

According to Texas historians, West foresaw the Depression, leveraging his assets in preparation for the economic downturn. In 1931, he discovered oil on the Clear Creek property. Never one to allow sentiment to cloud his business acumen, he sold the thirty thousand acres (what is now Clear Lake City) the mansion sat on to Humble Oil Company (now Exxon) for the sum of 8.5 million dollars. One can only imagine the royalties West earned in the years prior to his death.

Like many small, South Texas communities at the time, oil built Clear Lake City. Lying between Harris and Galveston Counties, two oilfields were developed there following the Humble Oil purchase: Clear Creek and Friendswood. In 1958, Humble donated some of the land to Rice University for a geology lab.

Clear Lake really came into its own in the early 1960s, going on to become one of the largest planned community in the Houston area. In 1962, Humble teamed up with the Del Webb Corporation and developed 15, 000 acres for residential and industrial use. Governor John Connelly formally opened Clear Lake City in 1963.

In 1961, Rice was given a larger tract, which was donated to NASA, and is where the Johnson Space Center is now located.

Despite its oil refinery history, Clear Lake City was not crippled by the oil crash of the mid-1980s. By that time, there was a wide range of economic diversity; aerospace engineering was an economic mainstay. In addition to the space center, Clear Lake City is also home to Boeing and Lockheed. Clear Lake City infused Houston with much needed revenue during those lean times.

Annexed by the city of Houston in 1977, Clear Lake City continues to maintain a reputation of diversity, relatively low crime, and a comfortable lifestyle.

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