Freeport is a city in Brazoria County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, United States, located on the Gulf of Mexico. According to the 2020 census, the city population was 10,696, down from 12,049 in 2010.

History

Freeport was founded as a European-American settlement in November 1912 by the

Freeport Sulphur Company Freeport-McMoRan Inc., often called Freeport, is an American mining company based in the Freeport-McMoRan Center, in Phoenix, Arizona. The company is the world's largest producer of molybdenum, is a major copper producer and operates the world's ...

. The population was 300. However, by 1929, that population had grown to 3,500, and to 4,100 by 1939, influencing a steady increase of economic expansion in Freeport.Freeport, TX

Handbook of Texas The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President W ...

, Retrieved 12 August 2007. By 1937, a Freeport School District had been established, consisting of several segregated schools and 27 teachers. There were two white schools, one black school, and a white high school. Freeport's most substantial economic growth began with the construction of

Dow Chemical Company The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world. Dow manufactures plastics ...

facilities in the city during 1939. This company is the community's largest employer. Freeport has the company's largest single manufacturing site in the 21st century. In July 1957, Freeport merged with Velasco, Texas. This had been a temporary capital of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Me ...

during the 19th century. Soon thereafter, Freeport's population numbered 11,619. In 2003, the city annexed nearby Bryan Beach.

Economy

Port Freeport is a

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

on the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

and is currently ranked 26th in international tonnage. The associated chemical plants provide a stable economy. Freeport is the site of the

's Texas Operations facility, which is the company's largest integrated site.

Geography

Freeport is located in southern Brazoria County at (28.959527, –95.356941), near the mouth of the

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 11th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...

in the

. In 2003, the city annexed of beach bounded on the northeast by the village of Quintana and continuing southwest to the mouth of the Brazos River. This beach is known as Bryan Beach. It is just a few miles away from Surfside and Quintana beaches. Texas State Highway 288, the Nolan Ryan Expressway, leads north from Freeport to Angleton, the county seat, and to downtown

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

Texas State Highway 36 State Highway 36 (SH 36) runs from Freeport to Abilene. It was designated as the 36th Division Memorial Highway between Cameron and Sealy by the Texas Legislature in 1985. History SH 36 was originally proposed on November 21, 1917, as a route ...

leads northwest to Brazoria. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, Freeport has a total area of , of which is land and , or 12.36%, is water.

Demographics

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 10,696 people, 4,224 households, and 2,993 families residing in the city. According to the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

numbers as of 2016, there were 12,153 people, 3,788 households with an average of 3.17 persons per household. The median gross rent was $711.00 and the owner-occupied housing rate was 49.5%. The racial makeup of the city was 33.2% non-Hispanic

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 13.9%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.56% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 20.91% from other races, and 3.24% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 52.0% of the population.

Languages Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

spoken in the household other than English is 49.4%. The mean travel time to work for workers age 16+ was 15.2 minutes. In 2012, there were approximately 1,230 businesses in Freeport with women owning 552. In the city, the median age for females is 29 years old and for males is 28. 34.1% of the population is 18 years of age or younger. The median income for a household in the city was $36,044. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $17,707. About 27.5% of families were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

Government

Freeport is in the 14th congressional district, and is represented by Congressman Randy Weber.

Media

The ''

Brazosport Facts The ''Brazosport Facts'' is the largest daily newspaper for Brazoria County, Texas, a part of the Greater Houston area. The newspaper is owned by Southern Newspapers Inc., and began in 1913. History The paper was started by printer Roy Ruffin a ...

'' in Clute is a local paper. It was headquartered in Freeport until the move to Clute in 1976. The ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

'' is the metropolitan area newspaper.

Education

Public education

Schools in Freeport include Brazosport High School (Grades 9–12), Freeport Intermediate School (Grades 7–8), Lanier Middle School (Grades 5–6), Freeport Elementary, and Velasco Elementary School (Grades Pre-K–4). They are all maintained through Brazosport Independent School District. * The $19.2 million Freeport Elementary facility opened in 2018. VLK Architects designed the building. The student capacity is 750. * Velasco Elementary was a Kindergarten through grade 4 school until 2017, when it became a grade 2–4 school for all of Freeport. Grades K–1 were moved to O. A. Fleming Elementary, which was scheduled to close in 2018 and be replaced by Freeport Elementary. Previously Freeport had O.A. Fleming Elementary School (PK–1), and Jane Long Elementary School (grades 2–4). Jane Long was scheduled to close in 2017, with Fleming taking grades K–1 and Velasco Elementary taking over grades 2–4. Fleming was scheduled to close when the new Freeport Elementary School opened in 2018.

Tertiary education

It is within the zone for

Brazosport College Brazosport College (BC) is a public community college in Lake Jackson, Texas. The college was opened in 1968 and offers primarily associate degrees and some bachelor's degrees. The campus features The Clarion, a regional musical performance ven ...

. The

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ar ...

designated the Brazosport ISD as in the Brazosport College zone.

Libraries

The Freeport Library is a part of the

Brazoria County Library System The Brazoria County Library System operates public libraries in Brazoria County, Texas, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily loc ...

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

system, Freeport has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Freeport, Texas
/ref>