Nederland City Hall is located at 207 N. 12th Street, Nederland, TX 77627/
Phone: 409-723-1503.
Nederland was officially placed on the map December 24, 1897. On that date, Robert Gilham, civil engineer, filed a certificate describing his finished survey of the town site. The name, Nederland, was given by its creator, Arthur Stilwell, owner of the Port Arthur Townsite Company. Mr. Stilwell had constructed the new railroad from Kansas City to Lake Sabine, financed in large part by investors from Holland. Stilwell hoped Nederland would become a Dutch Settlement in Texas.
In the late summer of 1897 the Port Arthur Land Company began construction of the Orange Hotel for the purpose of housing the immigrants that were brought to the area. This hotel (built on the site where Bank of America now stands) was to furnish a room and board at a reasonable rate while the newcomers were choosing their land and building their homes. The hotel was an attractive, well constructed three story building. consisting of 33 rooms. Beside the sleeping rooms, there was a combination dining and ballroom and a library, which contained 1,000 books. The hotel was painted a bright orange color in honor of the royal family of Holland.
Many of the immigrants took temporary jobs on the railroad, working on the jetties at Sabine Pass or on farms in the outlying areas. Those who were unable to adjust to the climate, the mosquitoes, and the lack of physical and material conveniences moved on to other towns or states, while some returned to Holland. Of those who remained most were engaged in rice farming, truck farming and dairy farming.
On January 10, 1901, the Lucas gusher erupted at nearby Spindletop, seven miles to the north of Nederland, ushering in the petrochemical age and establishing the economic base which has accounted for Nederland's continual growth. The greatest impetus to Nederland's economy came in 1922 when Humphrey Oil Company located at nearby Smith's Bluff. In 1923 the Pure Oil Company took over and started building their refinery which is now Chevron Pipeline Terminal. Nederland is still motivated by the same ideals, dreams, enthusiasm, and desire to achieve that existed in those early adventurous days.
Brochure, Nederland Chamber of Commerce and Touris Bureau, Nedrland Texas, 2019, nederlandtx.com, accessed December, 2021.
Nearby Towns: Port Arthur City •