The Houston Ship Channel Was a Major WWII Industrial Center

During World War II, the Ship Channel's refineries and petrochemical plants ran at full speed. They supplied fuel and war materials. The San Jacinto Ordnance Depot, also in Harris County, stored and shipped ammunition during the war.

The war years sped up the county's growth. Black workers and women took industrial jobs in larger numbers than before. That shift changed who lived and worked in Houston after the war. The Port of Houston moved large amounts of wartime cargo. That role helped it grow into one of the busiest ports in the country.