Beauxart Gardens
Named for its location between Beaumont and Port Arthur, Beauxart Gardens was developed during the Great Depression by the U.S. Government as a federal subsistence homestead colony under the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933. The act encouraged urban and rural workers to supplement their incomes through agriculture. Residents worked part-time at area refineries and kept gardens and livestock. One of five such colonies in Texas, Beauxart Gardens was located on fertile rice land and provided a total of 50 families with a house and acreage.
In 1934, the U.S. Government bought 205 acres of land from Frank D. and Lillian Mabry and Ed and Mary Mittie for the creation of Beauxart Gardens. Plans included homesteads of approximately 2.5 to 4.5 acres, two dedicated parks, two shelled public roads and a community center, all protected by fence and cattle guards. Residents purchased homesteads for an average of $3000, payable over a period of forty years. In addition to a modest frame home, each homestead included a combination garage and cow barn and a chicken house.
The federal government transferred title to the Beauxart Homestead Association in 1936 but continued to provide agricultural and related instruction during the Depression. The Beauxart Homestead Association maintained its oversight of the community’s development, and the community center was the location of frequent civic and social activities. In 1942 it became the polling place for a new voting precinct at Beauxart Gardens. Today, Beauxart Gardens retains its identity as a successful New Deal program.