History / Industry
Dow Chemical Built Lake Jackson as a Planned Company Town in 1941
Dow Chemical chose Freeport for a major World War II-era manufacturing plant and then built the city of Lake Jackson from scratch to house its workforce, transforming the county's economy and population.
In 1940, Dow Chemical bought 800 acres near Freeport Harbor in Brazoria County. The company needed a Gulf Coast site to pull magnesium from seawater for wartime aircraft production. The Freeport magnesium plant started production in January 1941. By the end of World War II, Brazoria County ranked among national leaders in magnesium output.
Freeport, Angleton, and Velasco would not provide housing for Dow's workers. So Dow bought about 6,500 acres between the Brazos River and Oyster Creek. That land had been the Abner Jackson plantation, which operated with enslaved labor in the 19th century. Dow's architect designed Lake Jackson as a planned community. Construction started December 8, 1941 — one day after Pearl Harbor. The city incorporated in 1944.
Dow's arrival changed Brazoria County. The population grew by more than 70 percent between 1940 and 1950, from about 27,000 to more than 46,000. Lake Jackson is now one of the larger cities in the county. The Brazosport industrial complex — centered on Freeport — is still one of the largest petrochemical corridors on the Gulf Coast. Dow's history at the site is at corporate.dow.com.
Source to confirm: Dow Corporate — Texas Facility History