Groves

[IndianFan]

Over the years it seems that some member of the media refuses to spell the town name Groves correctly. Rather than acknowledging the mistake and correcting it, some of those media related individuals seem to double down on the misspelling out of spite.

For their benefit and credibility, I’d like to point out why it makes a difference to the citizens of Groves.

Despite the often mentioned myth, Groves was not given that name in recognition of the groves of pecan trees, it is named after Asa Groves who lent his name to the area.

So to media professionals out there, out of respect for his memory and the community, please take time to acknowledge facts and spell it correctly.

For more historical details about Groves, visit:

City of Groves, Texas

www.cigrovestx.com

Groves has an interesting history including this bit of information.

“One of the old tales in the area's early history recounts a group of rice farmers drilling for water on a site where Groves Elementary School stands today. To their great dismay they struck oil at about 800 feet, so they filled in the well and went elsewhere for water. It is possible that if the group had realized the value of their discovery Groves, instead of Beaumont, would have had the distinction enjoyed by Spindletop today.”



Asa Groves (left)

 

[Indian99]

Dang - so you’re telling me Groves Elementary is built on a goldmine??

 

[IndianFan]

I recall hearing from elders that Groves also missed out on an opportunity to have the old Fina refinery, now BASF/Total, within its boundary back in the 1930’s. Something about the refinery looking for a source of water, and Groves turned them down. So that area ended up being annexed by PA. No clue how accurate that story is or was. Maybe someone else knows.

 

[bandkid]

I recall hearing from elders that Groves also missed out on an opportunity to have the old Fina refinery, now BASF/Total, within its boundary back in the 1930’s. Something about the refinery looking for a source of water, and Groves turned them down. So that area ended up being annexed by PA. No clue how accurate that story is or was. Maybe someone else knows.

It’s accurate. Something similar occurred with the neighborhood next to the old Taft Elementary site in the ‘60s. Groves tried to jack up the cost of running water and sewer at the last second when it was under construction, thinking the developer wouldn’t have a choice but to pay and not realizing the developer was poker buddies with the mayor of Port Arthur and half the city council. Two phone calls later, Port Arthur was running water and sewer service out there.

The same developer later donated the land on which Taft Elementary was built to PN-GISD.

 

[IndianFan]

Huge oversight by those Groves leaders of the time.

 

[benchwarmer53]

It’s accurate. Something similar occurred with the neighborhood next to the old Taft Elementary site in the ‘60s. Groves tried to jack up the cost of running water and sewer at the last second when it was under construction, thinking the developer wouldn’t have a choice but to pay and not realizing the developer was poker buddies with the mayor of Port Arthur and half the city council. Two phone calls later, Port Arthur was running water and sewer service out there.

The same developer later donated the land on which Taft Elementary was built to PN-GISD.

Groves was not incorporated until the late 40s or early fifties. Incorporation came about in order to block part of Groves being annexed by Port Arthur. I think the city limits were set to be the boundaries of the existing water district. Evidently, the water district kept the refinery out of the district. The story about hitting oil at 800 feet sounds fishy to me. If there is oil there, why aren't there oil wells in Groves. Also my understanding of the water table in Groves is that it is only 20 to 25 ft. If I am wrong, please correct.

 

[bandkid]

Groves was not incorporated until the late 40s or early fifties. Incorporation came about in order to block part of Groves being annexed by Port Arthur. I think the city limits were set to be the boundaries of the existing water district. Evidently, the water district kept the refinery out of the district. The story about hitting oil at 800 feet sounds fishy to me. If there is oil there, why aren't there oil wells in Groves. Also my understanding of the water table in Groves is that it is only 20 to 25 ft. If I am wrong, please correct.

The incident with the developer I'm referring to occurred around 1960.

I have no idea whether the story about the oil well is accurate, but there is definitely oil under Port Neches and Groves. If memory serves, that's how the Heberts struck it rich.

Friends in the oil and gas business tell me only about 20% of the oil underneath Jefferson County was extracted by Spindletop and its progeny. The problem is that the way in which the Spindletop-era wells were drilled depressurized the formation, making what's down there much more expensive to recover. There's a handful of wells in south Jefferson County and right across the river in Orangefield that still occasionally run.