Texas Porch

City History

Sugar Land grew from a sugar plantation company town into a major suburb

The city of Sugar Land traces its roots to a 19th-century sugar plantation and the Imperial Sugar Company that once dominated the area.

Fort Bend County History & Culture

In the 1840s, the Williams brothers grew sugarcane near the Brazos River. Their operation grew into a large refinery. Between 1906 and 1908, Isaac H. Kempner and William T. Eldridge acquired the Ellis and Cunningham plantations and established the Imperial Sugar Company. It ran the area as a company town for decades.

After World War II, and especially from the 1980s on, Sugar Land grew fast as a Houston suburb. Master-planned communities brought in many new residents. Today Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County.

The change from company town to big suburb happened within living memory. The Handbook of Texas tells the full story of Sugar Land's growth.

Source to confirm: Handbook of Texas – Sugar Land

More Fort Bend County notes

Property Tax Basics

Two offices handle your property tax in Fort Bend County

The appraisal district sets your home's value; the tax assessor-collector sends the bill and takes payment.

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Homestead Exemption

How to apply for a homestead exemption in Fort Bend County

Homeowners who live in their home as their main residence can apply with FBCAD to lower the taxable value.

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Municipal Utility Districts

Many Fort Bend neighborhoods are inside a MUD

Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs) are special taxing districts that built and now run water, sewer, and drainage in many subdivisions.

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Ag Valuation

Agricultural land in Fort Bend can be taxed at a lower rate

Land used for farming or ranching may qualify for a lower tax value based on what it can produce, not what it would sell for.

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