BRIDGE CITY, TEXAS. Bridge City is at the junction of State Highway 73/87 and Farm Road 1442, twenty-two miles southeast of Beaumont in southern Orange County. It was originally called Prairie View for its location on the coastal prairie and became known as Bridge City after the construction of a notable highway bridge over the Neches River linking Orange County to Port Arthur. The Bridge City post office was established in 1946, and by 1952 the estimated population had reached 3,000. Industrial growth was aided by the channelization of Cow Bayou, the completion of a private electric plant in 1962, and the presence of nearby oilfields and petrochemical plants. Despite Bridge City's rapid growth, voters proved reluctant to incorporate their community. Although the population was 4,677 in 1960, two incorporation attempts in 1961 failed to secure a majority of voters. In 1970 Bridge City electors finally agreed to incorporate by a margin of 677 to 466. By that time, the population had increased to 8,164. In 1980 the population was 7,667, and in 1990 it was 8,034, and in 2000 it was 8,651.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Faye Farley, "A History of the Post Offices in Orange County from 1848," Las Sabinas: The Official Quarterly Publication of the Orange County Historical Society 2 (Spring 1976).
