History of Sugar Land, Texas
Encyclopedia
The history of Sugar Land, Texas
, documents the historical events starting with the land grant
by Stephen F. Austin
to what would later become a company town
in the early 1900s and then the fastest growing city in the U.S. state
of Texas
during the 1990s.
tracing its roots back to the original Mexican land grant
to Stephen F. Austin
. One of the first settlers of the land, Samuel M. Williams, called this land "Oakland Plantation" because there were many different varieties of oak
s on the land, such as Pin Oak, Post Oak
, Water Oak, Red Oak, and Live Oak. Williams' brother, Nathaniel, purchased the land in 1838. They operated the plantation
by growing cotton
, corn
, and sugarcane
. During these early years, the area that is now Sugar Land was the center of social life along the Brazos River
. In 1853, Benjamin Terry and William J. Kyle purchased the Oakland Plantation from the S. M. Williams family. Terry is known for organizing Terry's Texas Rangers
during the American Civil War
and for naming the town
. Upon the deaths of Terry and Kyle, Colonel E. H. Cunningham bought the 12,500 acre (51 km²) plantation soon after the Civil War and developed the town around his sugar refining plant around 1879 .
, under the leadership of Isaac Herbert Kempner
and in partnership
with William T. Eldridge, purchased the 5,300 acre (21 km²) Ellis Plantation, one of the few plantations in Fort Bend County to survive the Civil War. The Ellis Plantation had originally been part of the Jesse Cartwright league, and in the years after the Civil War had been operated by a system of tenant farming and convict leasing under the management of Will Ellis.
In 1908, the partnership
acquired the adjoining 12,500 acre (51 km²) Cunningham Plantation with its raw sugar mill and cane-sugar refinery. The partnership changed the name to Imperial Sugar Company
; Kempner associated the name Imperial, which was also the name of a small raw-sugar mill on the Ellis Plantation, with the Imperial Hotel in New York City
. Around the turn of the century, most of the sugarcane
crops were destroyed by a harsh winter. As part of the Kempner-Eldridge agreement, Eldridge moved to the site to serve as general manager and build the company-owned town
of Sugar Land.
Train
s have always been the sound of Sugar Land. These rails are on the route of the oldest railroad in Texas
. It went right through the middle of town, by the sugar refinery, and west of town, through the heart of what used to be known as the Imperial State Prison Farm.
As a company town
from the 1910s until 1959, Sugar Land was virtually self-contained. Imperial Sugar Company provided housing
for the workers, encouraged construction of school
s, built a hospital
for the workers well-being, and provided business
es to meet the workers needs. Many of the original homes built by the Imperial Sugar Company remain today in The Hill area and Mayfield Park of Sugar Land and have been passed down through generations of family members.
During the 1950s, Imperial Sugar wanted to expand the town by building more houses. This led to the creation of a new subdivision of Venetian Estates. The subdivision featured water front homesites fronting Oyster Creek and other man-made lake
s.
expanded, so did the interest of establishing a municipal government. It resulted in Sugar Land becoming a general law city
in 1959 by voters. T. E. Harman became the first mayor
of Sugar Land.
In the early 1960s, a new subdivision
development introduced contemporary affordable housing in Sugar Land for the first time called Covington Woods.
The Imperial Cattle Ranch sold about 1,200 acres (4.9 km²) to a developer to create what became Sugar Creek in 1968. As a master-planned community, Sugar Creek introduced country club
living with two golf course
s and country clubs, swimming pools, and security.
Encouraged by the success of Sugar Creek, First Colony, a new master-planned community encompassing 10,000 acres (40 km²) set out to create a new standard in development in Sugar Land. Development began in 1977 by Sugarland Properties Inc. and would follow the next 30 years. The master-planned community offered homebuyers formal landscaping, neighborhoods segmented by price range, extensive greenbelt
s, a golf course
and country club
, lakes and boulevards, neighborhood amenities and shopping.
Around the same time of First Colony, another master-planned community development started in northern portion of Sugar Land called Sugar Mill. Sugar Mill offered traditional, lakefront, and estate lots.
Sugar Land began attracting the attention of major corporation
s throughout the 1980s, and many chose to make the city their home. Fluor, Schlumberger, Unocal and others offered their employees the opportunity to work within minutes of their home. This resulted in a 40/60 ratio of residential to commercial
tax base within the city.
In 1981, a special city election was held for the purpose of establishing a home rule municipal government. Voters approved the adoption of a home rule charter. The type of municipal government provided by this Charter
was known as "mayor-council government," and all powers of the City were invested in a Council composed of a mayor
and five councilmen.
A special city election
was held Aug. 9, 1986, to submit the proposed changes to the electorate for consideration. By a majority of the voters, amendments to the Charter were approved which provided for a change in the City's form of government from that of "mayor-council" (strong mayor) to that of a "council-manager" form of government which provides that the city manager
be the chief administrative officer of the city. Approval of this amendment
provided for the mayor to become a voting member of Council, in addition to performing duties as presiding officer of the Council.
Sugar Land annexed the master-planned Sugar Creek community in 1986 with the community being almost built-out. This was the first of several large annexations that will follow later on. Also, that same year, the city extended its extraterritorial jurisdiction
across the Brazos River
to what would later cover the 2,050 acre (8.3 km²) master-planned community of Greatwood.
In 1986, Sugar Land organized the largest celebration in its history— The Texas Sesquicentennial Celebration, celebrating 150 years of Texan independence from Mexican rule.
to a Mayor, four councilmembers to be elected by single-member districts and two councilmembers by at-large position.
Throughout much of the 1990s, Sugar Land was considered one of the fastest-growing communities in the nation and the majority of Sugar Landers are white-collar
, and college-educated working in Houston's renowned energy industry. An abundance of commercial growth, with numerous low-rise office buildings, banks and high-class restaurants popping up, can be seen along both U.S. Highway 59 and State Highway 6, two of the six main traffic arteries in the city.
Sugar Land tremendously increased its tax base with the opening of First Colony Mall in 1996. The over one million square foot (100,000 m²) mall
was the first in Fort Bend County and located at the busiest intersection of the city: U.S. Highway 59 and State Highway 6. The mall was named after the 10,000 acre (40 km²) master-planned First Colony community and is located in the community as well.
On a late November night at 11:59 p.m. in 1997, Sugar Land annexed the remaining Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs) of the 10,000 acre (40 km²) First Colony master-planned community, bringing the population to almost reaching 60,000. This was Sugar Land's largest annexation
to date.
Later in 1998, a new 428 acre (1.7 km²) master-planned community of Avalon offered lake-side living with estate and lakefront home sites, similar to that of the built-out Sugar Lakes master-planned community, which was developed by the same developer.
as the second most important city in the metropolitan area, after Houston
, as the title used to be Houston–Galveston–Brazoria.
The new millennium also saw the need of higher education
facility expansion located within the city. In 2002, the University of Houston System at Fort Bend, a multi-institution teaching center for the four universities within the University of Houston System
, moved to its new 250 acre (1 km²) campus located off of University Blvd and U.S. Highway 59 intersection. The city of Sugar Land helped fund the Albert and Mamie George Building and as a result, the multi-institution teaching center was renamed to the University of Houston System at Sugar Land
.
Sugar Land approved a general land plan for a new master-planned community south of Commonwealth and First Colony and east of Avalon, named Riverstone (formerly referred to as Sugar Land Ranch) in 2002. Riverstone contains 2,800 acres (11 km²) with a wooded 2,300 acres (9 km²) located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction
of Sugar Land. The community will feature a golf course, country club, and a 500 acre (2 km²) park along the Brazos River
. The major arterial through this community will be the unbuild portion of University Blvd and the Palm Royale Blvd extension out of First Colony.
In 2003, the Imperial Sugar
Company refinery plant and distribution center was put out of operation, but its effect on the local economy was minimal, if at all, since Sugar Land today has much more of a reputation as an affluent Houston suburb than the blue-collar, agriculture
-dependent town it once was a generation ago.
The Texas Department of Transportation sold 2,018 acres (8.2 km²) of prison land in the western portion Sugar Land to Newland Communities, a developer, by bid in 2003. Thereafter, the developer announced to build a new master-planned community in this prime location with homes to deliver in early 2006. In July 2004, Sugar Land annexed all 2,018 acres (8.2 km²) of this land into the city limits to control the quality of development, extending the city limits westward. This was unusual since Sugar Land only annexed built-out areas in the past, not prior to development.
On December 1, 2005, at 12:01 a.m., Sugar Land annexed the recently built-out master-planned community of Avalon and four sections of Brazos Landing subdivision into the city limits adding approximately 4,000 residents. Sugar Land is currently negotiating with the communities of Greatwood, New Territory, and River Park, along with the subdivisions of Tara Colony and Tara Plantation to annex in the near future. This annexation will be the largest, surpassing the annexation of First Colony back in 1992 and 1997, which will bring the city proper's population to approximately 120,000.
In 2008, Minute Maid
, the world's largest marketer of fruit drinks, announced plans to move its headquarters to Sugar Land. The new office building will be located at the Sugar Land town center and is set to open in January 2009.
Sugar Land, Texas
Sugar Land is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and Fort Bend County. Sugar Land is one of the most affluent and fastest-growing cities in Texas, having grown more than 158 percent in the last decade. In the time period of 2000–2007, Sugar Land also enjoyed a...
, documents the historical events starting with the land grant
Land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...
by Stephen F. Austin
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,...
to what would later become a company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
in the early 1900s and then the fastest growing city in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
during the 1990s.
Sugar Land's founding
Sugar Land has a heritageNatural heritage
Natural heritage is the legacy of natural objects and intangible attributes encompassing the countryside and natural environment, including flora and fauna, scientifically known as biodiversity, and geology and landforms ....
tracing its roots back to the original Mexican land grant
Land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...
to Stephen F. Austin
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,...
. One of the first settlers of the land, Samuel M. Williams, called this land "Oakland Plantation" because there were many different varieties of oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
s on the land, such as Pin Oak, Post Oak
Post oak
Quercus stellata is an oak in the white oak group. It is a small tree, typically 10–15 m tall and 30–60 cm trunk diameter, though occasional specimens reach 30 m tall and 140 cm diameter. It is native to the eastern United States, from Connecticut in the northeast, west to southern Iowa, southwest...
, Water Oak, Red Oak, and Live Oak. Williams' brother, Nathaniel, purchased the land in 1838. They operated the plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
by growing cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, and sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
. During these early years, the area that is now Sugar Land was the center of social life along the Brazos River
Brazos River
The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers , is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river in the United States at from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a drainage...
. In 1853, Benjamin Terry and William J. Kyle purchased the Oakland Plantation from the S. M. Williams family. Terry is known for organizing Terry's Texas Rangers
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and for naming the town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
. Upon the deaths of Terry and Kyle, Colonel E. H. Cunningham bought the 12,500 acre (51 km²) plantation soon after the Civil War and developed the town around his sugar refining plant around 1879 .
Company town
In 1906, the Kempner family of GalvestonGalveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
, under the leadership of Isaac Herbert Kempner
Isaac Herbert Kempner
Isaac H. Kempner, 1873 - August 1, 1967, was the founder of the Imperial Sugar Corporation and mayor of Galveston, Texas.-Early years:Kempner was born in 1873 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father was a Polish Jewish immigrant and his mother was of the German Jewish Seinsheimer family from Cincinnati. ...
and in partnership
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
with William T. Eldridge, purchased the 5,300 acre (21 km²) Ellis Plantation, one of the few plantations in Fort Bend County to survive the Civil War. The Ellis Plantation had originally been part of the Jesse Cartwright league, and in the years after the Civil War had been operated by a system of tenant farming and convict leasing under the management of Will Ellis.
In 1908, the partnership
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
acquired the adjoining 12,500 acre (51 km²) Cunningham Plantation with its raw sugar mill and cane-sugar refinery. The partnership changed the name to Imperial Sugar Company
Imperial Sugar
Imperial Sugar is a major U.S. sugar producer and marketer based in Sugar Land, Texas, with sugar refinery operations in California, Georgia, and Louisiana....
; Kempner associated the name Imperial, which was also the name of a small raw-sugar mill on the Ellis Plantation, with the Imperial Hotel in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Around the turn of the century, most of the sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
crops were destroyed by a harsh winter. As part of the Kempner-Eldridge agreement, Eldridge moved to the site to serve as general manager and build the company-owned town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
of Sugar Land.
Train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
s have always been the sound of Sugar Land. These rails are on the route of the oldest railroad in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It went right through the middle of town, by the sugar refinery, and west of town, through the heart of what used to be known as the Imperial State Prison Farm.
As a company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
from the 1910s until 1959, Sugar Land was virtually self-contained. Imperial Sugar Company provided housing
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
for the workers, encouraged construction of school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
s, built a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
for the workers well-being, and provided business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
es to meet the workers needs. Many of the original homes built by the Imperial Sugar Company remain today in The Hill area and Mayfield Park of Sugar Land and have been passed down through generations of family members.
During the 1950s, Imperial Sugar wanted to expand the town by building more houses. This led to the creation of a new subdivision of Venetian Estates. The subdivision featured water front homesites fronting Oyster Creek and other man-made lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s.
A city emerges
As the company townCompany town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
expanded, so did the interest of establishing a municipal government. It resulted in Sugar Land becoming a general law city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in 1959 by voters. T. E. Harman became the first mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Sugar Land.
In the early 1960s, a new subdivision
Subdivision (land)
Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or otherwise develop, usually via a plat. The former single piece as a whole is then known in the United States as a subdivision...
development introduced contemporary affordable housing in Sugar Land for the first time called Covington Woods.
The Imperial Cattle Ranch sold about 1,200 acres (4.9 km²) to a developer to create what became Sugar Creek in 1968. As a master-planned community, Sugar Creek introduced country club
Country club
A country club is a private club, often with a closed membership, that typically offers a variety of recreational sports facilities and is located in city outskirts or rural areas. Activities may include, for example, any of golf, tennis, swimming or polo...
living with two golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
s and country clubs, swimming pools, and security.
Encouraged by the success of Sugar Creek, First Colony, a new master-planned community encompassing 10,000 acres (40 km²) set out to create a new standard in development in Sugar Land. Development began in 1977 by Sugarland Properties Inc. and would follow the next 30 years. The master-planned community offered homebuyers formal landscaping, neighborhoods segmented by price range, extensive greenbelt
Green belt
A green belt or greenbelt is a policy and land use designation used in land use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges which have a linear character and may run through an...
s, a golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
and country club
Country club
A country club is a private club, often with a closed membership, that typically offers a variety of recreational sports facilities and is located in city outskirts or rural areas. Activities may include, for example, any of golf, tennis, swimming or polo...
, lakes and boulevards, neighborhood amenities and shopping.
Around the same time of First Colony, another master-planned community development started in northern portion of Sugar Land called Sugar Mill. Sugar Mill offered traditional, lakefront, and estate lots.
Sugar Land began attracting the attention of major corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
s throughout the 1980s, and many chose to make the city their home. Fluor, Schlumberger, Unocal and others offered their employees the opportunity to work within minutes of their home. This resulted in a 40/60 ratio of residential to commercial
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
tax base within the city.
In 1981, a special city election was held for the purpose of establishing a home rule municipal government. Voters approved the adoption of a home rule charter. The type of municipal government provided by this Charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
was known as "mayor-council government," and all powers of the City were invested in a Council composed of a mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
and five councilmen.
A special city election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
was held Aug. 9, 1986, to submit the proposed changes to the electorate for consideration. By a majority of the voters, amendments to the Charter were approved which provided for a change in the City's form of government from that of "mayor-council" (strong mayor) to that of a "council-manager" form of government which provides that the city manager
City manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
be the chief administrative officer of the city. Approval of this amendment
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
provided for the mayor to become a voting member of Council, in addition to performing duties as presiding officer of the Council.
Sugar Land annexed the master-planned Sugar Creek community in 1986 with the community being almost built-out. This was the first of several large annexations that will follow later on. Also, that same year, the city extended its extraterritorial jurisdiction
Extraterritorial jurisdiction
Extraterritorial jurisdiction is the legal ability of a government to exercise authority beyond its normal boundaries.Any authority can, of course, claim ETJ over any external territory they wish...
across the Brazos River
Brazos River
The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers , is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river in the United States at from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a drainage...
to what would later cover the 2,050 acre (8.3 km²) master-planned community of Greatwood.
In 1986, Sugar Land organized the largest celebration in its history— The Texas Sesquicentennial Celebration, celebrating 150 years of Texan independence from Mexican rule.
A decade of growth
An Amendment on May 5, 1990, changed the composition of the City CouncilCity council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
to a Mayor, four councilmembers to be elected by single-member districts and two councilmembers by at-large position.
Throughout much of the 1990s, Sugar Land was considered one of the fastest-growing communities in the nation and the majority of Sugar Landers are white-collar
White-collar worker
The term white-collar worker refers to a person who performs professional, managerial, or administrative work, in contrast with a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor...
, and college-educated working in Houston's renowned energy industry. An abundance of commercial growth, with numerous low-rise office buildings, banks and high-class restaurants popping up, can be seen along both U.S. Highway 59 and State Highway 6, two of the six main traffic arteries in the city.
Sugar Land tremendously increased its tax base with the opening of First Colony Mall in 1996. The over one million square foot (100,000 m²) mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
was the first in Fort Bend County and located at the busiest intersection of the city: U.S. Highway 59 and State Highway 6. The mall was named after the 10,000 acre (40 km²) master-planned First Colony community and is located in the community as well.
On a late November night at 11:59 p.m. in 1997, Sugar Land annexed the remaining Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs) of the 10,000 acre (40 km²) First Colony master-planned community, bringing the population to almost reaching 60,000. This was Sugar Land's largest annexation
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
to date.
Later in 1998, a new 428 acre (1.7 km²) master-planned community of Avalon offered lake-side living with estate and lakefront home sites, similar to that of the built-out Sugar Lakes master-planned community, which was developed by the same developer.
The new millennium
Sugar Land boasted the highest growth among Texas' largest cities per the U.S. Census 2000 with a population of 63,328 and a 2004 estimate at 73,721. In 2003, Sugar Land became a "principal" city as the title changed to Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. Sugar Land replaced GalvestonGalveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
as the second most important city in the metropolitan area, after Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, as the title used to be Houston–Galveston–Brazoria.
The new millennium also saw the need of higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
facility expansion located within the city. In 2002, the University of Houston System at Fort Bend, a multi-institution teaching center for the four universities within the University of Houston System
University of Houston System
The University of Houston System is a state university system in Texas, encompassing four separate and distinct universities. It has two system centers, which operate as and distance learning course delivery sites for its universities...
, moved to its new 250 acre (1 km²) campus located off of University Blvd and U.S. Highway 59 intersection. The city of Sugar Land helped fund the Albert and Mamie George Building and as a result, the multi-institution teaching center was renamed to the University of Houston System at Sugar Land
University of Houston System at Sugar Land
The University of Houston System at Sugar Land is a multi-institution teaching center of the University of Houston System located in Sugar Land, Texas...
.
Sugar Land approved a general land plan for a new master-planned community south of Commonwealth and First Colony and east of Avalon, named Riverstone (formerly referred to as Sugar Land Ranch) in 2002. Riverstone contains 2,800 acres (11 km²) with a wooded 2,300 acres (9 km²) located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction
Extraterritorial jurisdiction
Extraterritorial jurisdiction is the legal ability of a government to exercise authority beyond its normal boundaries.Any authority can, of course, claim ETJ over any external territory they wish...
of Sugar Land. The community will feature a golf course, country club, and a 500 acre (2 km²) park along the Brazos River
Brazos River
The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers , is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river in the United States at from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a drainage...
. The major arterial through this community will be the unbuild portion of University Blvd and the Palm Royale Blvd extension out of First Colony.
In 2003, the Imperial Sugar
Imperial Sugar
Imperial Sugar is a major U.S. sugar producer and marketer based in Sugar Land, Texas, with sugar refinery operations in California, Georgia, and Louisiana....
Company refinery plant and distribution center was put out of operation, but its effect on the local economy was minimal, if at all, since Sugar Land today has much more of a reputation as an affluent Houston suburb than the blue-collar, agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
-dependent town it once was a generation ago.
The Texas Department of Transportation sold 2,018 acres (8.2 km²) of prison land in the western portion Sugar Land to Newland Communities, a developer, by bid in 2003. Thereafter, the developer announced to build a new master-planned community in this prime location with homes to deliver in early 2006. In July 2004, Sugar Land annexed all 2,018 acres (8.2 km²) of this land into the city limits to control the quality of development, extending the city limits westward. This was unusual since Sugar Land only annexed built-out areas in the past, not prior to development.
On December 1, 2005, at 12:01 a.m., Sugar Land annexed the recently built-out master-planned community of Avalon and four sections of Brazos Landing subdivision into the city limits adding approximately 4,000 residents. Sugar Land is currently negotiating with the communities of Greatwood, New Territory, and River Park, along with the subdivisions of Tara Colony and Tara Plantation to annex in the near future. This annexation will be the largest, surpassing the annexation of First Colony back in 1992 and 1997, which will bring the city proper's population to approximately 120,000.
In 2008, Minute Maid
Minute Maid
Minute Maid is a product line of beverages, usually associated with lemonade or orange juice, but now extends to soft drinks of many kinds, including Hi-C...
, the world's largest marketer of fruit drinks, announced plans to move its headquarters to Sugar Land. The new office building will be located at the Sugar Land town center and is set to open in January 2009.
See also
- History of TexasHistory of TexasEuropean conquistadors first arrived in the region now known as Texas in 1519, finding the region populated by various Native American tribes...
- Sugar Land, TexasSugar Land, TexasSugar Land is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and Fort Bend County. Sugar Land is one of the most affluent and fastest-growing cities in Texas, having grown more than 158 percent in the last decade. In the time period of 2000–2007, Sugar Land also enjoyed a...
- Fort Bend County, TexasFort Bend County, TexasFort Bend County is a county located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. In 2000 its population was 354,452, while the 2010 U.S...
- Stephen F. AustinStephen F. AustinStephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,...
- Mirabeau B. LamarMirabeau B. LamarMirabeau Buonaparte Lamar was a Texas politician, diplomat and soldier who was a leading Texas political figure during the Texas Republic era. He was the second President of the Republic of Texas, after David G. Burnet and Sam Houston.-Early years:Lamar grew up at Fairfield, his father's...