Missouri City

History

The area in which Missouri City is now located holds a significant part in the history of Texas that dates back to its early days as part of the United States. In August 1853, the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway (BBB&C), began operating its first of rail line that stretched from Harrisburg (now Houston) to Stafford's Point (now Stafford). It was the first railroad to begin operating in Texas, and the first standard gauge railroad west of the Mississippi River. The railway continued its extension westward until, in 1883, it linked with its eastward counterpart, completing the Sunset Route from Los Angeles to New Orleans. Today, the route of the BBB&C (now owned by the Union Pacific Railroad) is still an important and heavily operated railroad line. In 1890, two real estate investors from Houston (R. M. Cash and L. E. Luckle) purchased of land directly on the route of the BBB&C, only a mile and a half from its first stop at Stafford's Point. They advertised the property as "a land of genial sunshine and eternal summer" in St. Louis, Missouri, and its surrounding areas. Three years later, W. R. McElroy purchased in the same vicinity, and in an effort to promote the area jointly with Cash and Luckle in St. Louis, he named it "Missouri City". Its first settlers were, however, from Arlington, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth. The settlement was officially registered in Texas in 1894, and began to take shape as a railroad town along Main Street and Blue Ridge Road, now known as US 90A and Texas Parkway, respectively. Its growth took an unexpected turn when, on February 14, 1895, shortly after the first group of settlers had arrived, the town was hit with a blizzard. This discouraged some of the newcomers, who gave up and moved elsewhere. Those unwavered…

Geography

Missouri City is located in eastern Fort Bend County with a portion of the city extending north into Harris County. Missouri City is bordered by the city of Houston to the north and east, Stafford to the northwest, Sugar Land to the west, and Arcola to the southeast, as well as unincorporated communities such as Fifth Street to the north, Fresno to the east, and Sienna Plantation to the south. Downtown Houston is to the northeast. Oyster Creek flows in a southerly direction through the municipality. According to the United States Census Bureau, Missouri City has a total area of , of which are land and , or 4.65%, are covered by water. Neighborhoods include: *Lakes of Brightwater *Quail Valley *Riverstone *Sienna Plantation Former communities annexed into Missouri City have included: * DeWalt * Trammels

Race & ethnicity