Port Freeport
Port Freeport is the geographically smallest deep-water seaport along the U.S Gulf Coast. Located in Freeport, Texas,
it has rail access, and both private and public facilities. It is ranked 10th in the nation for chemicals, 19th in the nation for total tonnage, 26th in the nation for container traffic, and handles over 100,000 vehicles per year and more than 1,000 ships per year. Forbes magazine ranked Port Freeport as one of the top 10 fastest growing seaports for exports in the U.S.
History
Pre-1925
This section covers the early history of the Brazos River from the time Texas was founded until the current entity was formed in 1925. When Stephen F. Austin landed on the Texas coast in 1825 at the mouth of the Brazos River, there was no deep channel or rock jetty, just a river flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.Report of Chief of Engineers
A report from the U.S. Army, describes the Brazos river as "one of the principal rivers in Texas. Its length is about 800 miles, and its watershed embraces about 36,000 square miles." "Unlike any other Texas river, the Brazos flows directly into the Gulf of Mexico without the intervention of a bay."In the late 19th century, work began on a set of jetties. They were not completed until 1900, as the project switched from being sponsored federally to privately and back again.
1866
The Brazos Internal Improvement and Navigation Company was chartered by the legislature of Texas for the purpose of deepening the channel over the bar and improving the river, but after various unsuccessful efforts to secure a subsidy from the state the project was abandoned around 1874.1880
The United States Army Corps of Engineers proposed spending $40,000 to remove the sand bar and add palmetto pilings. Congress approved the budget. However, later that year, the Corps amended their proposal to build two parallel jetties of brush, stone and concrete instead of piles at an estimated cost of $522,890. Work began in 1881 and continued until 1886, when operations were suspended for lack of federal funds. At this time, only the northern jetty was partially complete, along with part of the base of the southern jetty.1887
A survey indicated that wave actions and subsidence may have contributed to the loss of a considerable amount of the north jetty. The officer in charge, Major O.H. Ernst, opined that money would be better spent deepening the Galveston and Brazos Canal, a canal that connected Port Velasco to Galveston, a forerunner of the Intracoastal Waterway. He recommended work on the jetties at the Brazos River be abandoned.1888
The Brazos River Channel and Dock Company
In February 1888 while federal representatives were preparing to abandon their project, the Texas Legislature added statutes creating the Brazos River Channel and Dock Company for the purpose of constructing, owning, and operating a deep-water channel into the Gulf of Mexico; and for constructing, owning, and operating docks in connection with such channels. Their authority extended "as far as necessary to reach a place of its docks that will afford security from cyclones, storms, swells, and tidal waves, with such depth as may suit its convenience and the wants of navigation, not less than 10 feet, and a width of not less than 40 feet." They were authorized to charge and collect tolls "not to exceed 1 cent per barrel bulk of the capacity of each vessel going either way."Velasco
Port Velasco officially opened in July 1891 and was the predecessor to Port Freeport. Velasco was the settlement originally located at the mouth of the Brazos River near modern day Surfside. After an early storm destroyed Velasco, the settlement was moved upriver and rebuilt. Port Velasco was an early port of commerce for Texas but was hampered by silting at the mouth of the Brazos River. Later, around 1957, the town of Velasco merged with the town of Freeport to form a single community.In 1899 the Secretary of War deemed the maintenance of the river mouth “of sufficient public interest to justify the United States to complete the works of the Brazos River Channel and Dock Company.” He approved $85,000 in funding for improvements to the river, provided the Brazos River Channel and Dock Company transferred all interest to the United States Government. This project resulted in channel 18 feet deep and 150 feet wide and removed any private interest from owning or operating the channel.
Products that were initially moved through the port were agricultural in nature; mostly cotton. In the early 1900s sulfur mines were common in southern Brazoria County, near Velasco and Freeport. The Freeport Sulphur Company was established in 1912 with mining interests in the area that utilized the channel for exporting product and was the original heavy industry to begin developing the area.
Spring floods impacted the river causing silting near the mouth so there was a continual need for dredging to keep commerce viable. Another major feature of the Brazos River is that it empties directly into the Gulf of Mexico without crossing a bay or estuary. This is important from both a maintenance and ecological viewpoint.
Post-1925
Port Freeport was officially created as a governing entity in 1925. Port Freeport, originally known as the Brazos River Harbor Navigation District of Brazoria County, is a Special District created under the Texas Constitution by the legislature in 1925 and approved by the citizens of Brazoria County. Port Freeport is a local government entity that is governed by a board of commissioners elected by the voters of the district.Port Freeport is a taxing authority with the power to issue bonds “for improving the inland and coastal waters, and for the preservation and conservation of inland and coastal waters for navigation … and that all property, real and personal, situated within the district and subject to taxation will be benefitted by the improvements to be constructed by the District” The port collects taxes for two purposes, to develop and improve waterways and facilities, and to maintain said waterways and facilities.
Following enactment of a statute in 1925 by the Texas legislature providing that a district might be established from parts or all of one or two counties for the purpose of improvement of harbor or navigable streams, in December 1925 The Brazos River Harbor Navigation district was created by a vote of people of the district that was established.. The district established encompasses Four-Fifths of Brazorla County.
A $1,000,000 in Bonds Voted accompanied the vote for district creation. The purpose of the bond issue was primarily for the Improvement and deepening of the harbor at the mouth of the Brazos River. This bond was matched by the federal government which directed the Corps of Engineers to begin a project to protect the harbor by diverting the mouth of the Brazos River over five miles from the existing rock jetties.
When completed, it created a protected harbor for shipping and a base for economic development. It also created the unique situation of the Brazos River being the only river in the United States with two mouths.
Early Projects
The first notable project of the Navigation District was the relocation of the Brazos River which was completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to control flooding in the town of Velasco and Freeport and provide a protected harbor for the fledgling shipping industry that supported sulfur mining in the area. Moving a river was a considerable task. Almost all the dirt work was done by mule powered equipment, as the diversion channel was dug in dry ground before being opened to the river water. One of the results of this project was the Highway 36 bridge leading into Freeport being built over dry ground then having the channel dug under it.Later, the main channel was expanded from 18 feet deep to a depth of 38 feet by 300 feet wide, and extended into the Gulf of Mexico for seven miles. This provided a more stable channel for ships calling on Port Freeport which primarily carried sulfur, crude oil for the inland refineries, and the new chemical market that developed during World War II.
In the early 1950s a public dry cargo terminal was built and operated by the Brazos River Navigation District of Brazoria County. This has evolved into the current facility located in the city of Freeport which houses various tenants such as American Rice, Dole, Del Monte, Chiquita and Horizon Terminals as well as a dozen stevedoring companies.
Modern Projects
- In 1970 the River and Harbor Act authorized the new depth of the channel to be 45 feet with dredging completed in the late 1980s. This was primarily to accommodate larger tankers needed for importing crude oil.
- In the early 1990s the North Jetty was relocated to create a wider channel entrance.
- In the early 2000s the entry channel was expanded again to accommodate larger liquified gas vessels.
- In 2014
- * Port Freeport obtained Congressional approval to further expand and deepen the channel to handle larger ships.
- * Two ship to shore cranes were added for moving containerized cargo.
- In 2018 public supported bonds were passed to support this specific project. However, US Army Corps of Engineers delayed work until 2020, and the actual work began in 2021.
- In 2021 the US Army Corps of Engineers broke the overall dredging project into four segments and issued a dredging contract to begin with Reach 3, a segment of river closest to and directly supporting the container dock. That segment of river was dredged to a depth of 51 feet in 2021.
- In 2022 a contract was issued for Reach 2, a segment of river that has a tight turn with heavy industry on both sides of the channel.
Size