Nederland

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Nederland, Texas
—  City  —
Location of Nederland, Texas
Coordinates: 29°58′23″N 93°59′48″W / 29.97306°N 93.99667°W / 29.97306; -93.99667
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Jefferson
Area
- Total	5.7 sq mi (14.8 km2)
- Land	5.7 sq mi (14.7 km2)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	16 ft (5 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	17,422
- Density	3,063.2/sq mi (1,182.7/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	77627
Area code(s)	409
FIPS code	48-50580[1]
GNIS feature ID	1363634[2]

Nederland is a city in Jefferson County, Texas, United States. The population was 17,422 at the 2000 census.

The city is adjacent to the Southeast Texas Regional Airport in Port Arthur, which serves the nearby cities of Beaumont and Port Arthur. It is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Nederland is located at 29°58′23″N 93°59′48″W / 29.97306°N 93.99667°W / 29.97306; -93.99667 (29.973113, -93.996715)^[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.7 square miles (14.8 km²), of which, 5.7 square miles (14.7 km²) of it is land and 0.18% is water.

History

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Nederland was founded in 1897 by Dutch settlers (Nederland is Dutch for The Netherlands). The more prominent families were named Rienstra, Doornbos and Van Oostrom, and their descendants still live in the area today. Tradition says they were attracted to the flat coastal terrain that reminded them of their homeland (although the heat most certainly did not). Nederland's Dutch heritage is commemorated by the Dutch Windmill Museum located on Boston Avenue.

Nederland became incorporated as a township in 1948. Its early economy was agricultural. The Port of Beaumont attracted shipping interests to support the east Texas logging industry. With the discovery of oil at the nearby Spindletop well in Beaumont, Nederland would become the bedroom community for a burgeoning oil refining industry that would grow up in the area. The surrounding larger cities of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange came to be known as the Golden Triangle. Nederland High School Band, with its black and gold colors, came to be called the "golden pride of the Golden Triangle." In the 1940s and 1950s, the Port of Beaumont was as important as New Orleans or Houston/Galveston, and Nederland thrived as a result.

Gas station canopy damaged by Hurricane Ike (September 2008).

The refineries also attracted a large population of blue-collar laborers into the area, and the community became heavily unionized. The area drew particularly heavily from southern Louisiana, and a strong Cajun flair is evident throughout the community. At the height of the labor union movement, the Golden Triangle was said to have been more virulently pro-union than Detroit, or even Youngstown, OH.^{[citation needed]} Strikes against the unionized refineries were commonplace.

With the decline of oil prices in the 1980s, the local economy suffered and Nederland experienced slight population losses.

On September 13, 2008, Nederland was hit by hurricane-force winds of Hurricane Ike.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 17,422 people, 6,858 households, and 5,020 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,063.2 people per square mile (1,182.2/km²). There were 7,226 housing units at an average density of 1,270.5/sq mi (490.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.51% White, 0.89% African American, 0.33% Native American, 2.02% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.01% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.25% of the population.

There were 6,858 households out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.8% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,188, and the median income for a family was $51,525. Males had a median income of $43,691 versus $25,457 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,408. About 5.5% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.9% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The United States Postal Service Nederland Post Office is located at 223 North 14th Street.^[4]

Education

The city is served by the Nederland Independent School District. The schools in Nederland include four elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. The four elementary schools are Langham Elementary, Helena Elementary, Highland Park Elementary, and Hillcrest Elementary. The two middle schools are C.O.Wilson Middle School, and Central Middle School. The one high school is Nederland High School.[1]

References

External links

• City Home Page
• Nederland, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online

• Nederland, Texas is at coordinates 29°58′23″N 93°59′48″W / 29.973113°N 93.996715°W / 29.973113; -93.996715 (Nederland, Texas)Coordinates: 29°58′23″N 93°59′48″W / 29.973113°N 93.996715°W / 29.973113; -93.996715 (Nederland, Texas)

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Jefferson County, Texas County seat: Beaumont Cities Beaumont | Bevil Oaks | China | Groves | Nederland | Nome | Port Arthur‡ | Port Neches | Taylor Landing CDPs Central Gardens Unincorporated communities Beauxart Gardens | Fannett | Hamshire | LaBelle | Viterbo Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties