Glen, TX

Glen was on what has become Farm Road 563 near the present-day site of Oak Island in south central Chambers County about fifty miles southwest of Beaumont. The Glen post office was established in 1905. In the early 1900s Forrest and Willie Watson operated a shipyard at Glen, serving the small vessels that plied the Double Bayou to nearby communities such as Graydon and Double Bayou. During these years area residents cultivated rice, vegetables, and fruits. The devastating hurricane of 1915, however, ruined many crops by flooding the local watercourses with salt water. A severe freeze the next year, followed by a sharp drop in agricultural prices after World War I, further hurt local commerce. The Glen post office, often considered part of the Graydon community, was discontinued in 1918. The site of what was Glen was in the 1970s occupied by the Brown and Root shipyard and the community of Oak Island. Farming, ranching, and fishing remained important to local residents.