Deer Park, Texas
City in the United States in Harris County
About Deer Park
Deer Park is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands metropolitan area. The city is located in southeast Harris County. As of the 2020 census, Deer Park had a population of 34,495.
Deer Park is the home to several major industrial facilities, including the Shell Chemicals plant, the Pemex refinery, and the Dow Chemical plant (formerly Rohm and Haas).
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How Deer Park is governed
Form of government not yet listed.
1 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.
Residents of Deer Park
Registered voters elect the officials below.
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Mayor
Executive
- Jerry Mouton, Jr. per Wikidata
The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.
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City Manager / Administrator
Executive
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The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).
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Police Chief
Administration & departments
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Leads the police department.
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Fire Chief
Administration & departments
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Leads the fire and emergency services department.
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Public Works Director
Administration & departments
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Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.
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Finance Director
Administration & departments
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The budget, taxes, and city accounts.
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Planning & Zoning Director
Administration & departments
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Land use, zoning, building permits.
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Parks & Recreation Director
Administration & departments
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Parks, programs, and public facilities.
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City Council
Legislative
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The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.
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City Clerk
Administration & departments
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Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.
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City Attorney
Administration & departments
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The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.
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Boards & Commissions
Legislative
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Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.
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Municipal Court
Judicial
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Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.
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Municipal Judge
Judicial
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Presides over the municipal court.
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- Website
- deerparktx.gov
Looking for your county, state and federal representatives too? See who represents 77536 or everyone in Texas.
Population over time
From 32,010 in 2010 to 34,495 in 2020 (+7.8%).
Show the numbers
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 34,495 |
| 2010 | 32,010 |
History
Deer Park was founded in 1892 by Simeon H. West, a farmer, retired legislator, and much-traveled adventurer from Illinois. He named the town for the large number of deer that roamed the Gulf plains. A railroad station opened later that year and a post office followed in 1893.
The subdivision was established in 1893 and was the site of a Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway station by about 1894. A Deer Park post office was established in 1893, discontinued in 1919, and reestablished in 1930. In 1896, the community, with a population of forty, had a hotel, a general store, and three resident carpenters. By 1922, Deer Park had dwindled down to almost nothing with four houses, one little schoolhouse, and an old hotel with a few scattered shacks along the railroad right-of-way. In 1928, Shell Oil Company broke ground on a new refinery. In the 1930s, an independent school district was established. By 1940, the population had grown to 100. By 1946, however, the area began to flourish as Deer Park became the site of refineries and toluene plants for the production of TNT.
The citizens of Deer Park voted to incorporate on December 12, 1948, and a few weeks later Earl E. Dunn became the first mayor.
Because of the 1948 incorporation, Houston did not incorporate Deer Park's territory into its city limits. The first city council meeting was held on February 7, 1949. The population had grown to 700 by 1948, to 5,000 by 1960 with a fire station, city hall, playground parks and an independent city water supply. A public library was begun in 1962 on Center Street. Population was 12,773 in 1970, and 28,520 in 2000. This growth has been fueled by the growth of the petrochemical industry as well as the growth of business along the Houston Ship Channel. Deer Park has a school district with 14 campuses, a city library, community theater, municipal court building, three fire stations, numerous city parks and recreational facilities, state-of-the-art water and sewer processing facilities, a post office, several hotels, 14 major industries as well as several light industrial companies. Today, Deer Park has approximately 9,000 homes and more than 30,000 residents.
Deer Park is near the site of the Battle of San Jacinto, where, on April 21, 1836, Texas won its independence from Mexico. Because the initial surrender treaty after the battle was drafted in Dr. George Moffitt Patrick's cabin, Deer Park bills itself as the "Birthplace of Texas". The original cabin was located on Buffalo Bayou where Rohm and Haas, now owned by Dow Chemical Company, established a chemical plant in Deer Park. A replica of Dr. Patrick's cabin is in front of the Theatre/Courts Building on Center Street. The Texas State Historical sign marker was relocated from the Dow Chemical parking lot to the replica log cabin home of Dr. Patrick located at the Theatre/Courts Building.
Shell Chemical plant explosion
On June 22, 1997, an ethylene explosion occurred at the nearby Shell Chemical Company plant that was heard and felt as far as 25 miles (40 km) away. While no evacuation of the city was ordered, residents living within a mile west of the plant were advised to remain inside their homes.
Intercontinental Terminals Company's chemical fire
On March 17, 2019, a chemical fire broke out at Intercontinental Terminals Company. The fire, which was caused from a pump seal failure, eventually spread to a dozen tanks.
The resultant fire and smoke plume could be seen for miles and lasted for three days. The tanks involved in the fire contained chemicals including xylene, naptha, pyrolysis gasoline (Pygas), and toluene. Deer Park residents were required to shelter in place during the fire. A probe by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board concluded that leaking chemicals had accumulated in an above-ground storage tank for about 30 minutes before they ignited. In April 2024, the state of Texas and the U.S. government reached a $6.6 million settlement with ITC; the money will be used to reimburse the state and federal government for damages caused by the blaze.
2023 tornado
Deer Park has been known for several smaller and less destructive tornadoes in its past, but on January 24, 2023, a large EF3 tornado hit downtown Deer Park. It caused damage most notably to the local skating rink, a nursing home, an animal shelter and knocked out power to many areas, including schools in the Deer Park Independent School District. Schools were still in session at the time of the tornado, and were dismissed late, and closed the remainder of the week. 3 injuries occurred as the tornado passed. Entire neighborhoods were severely damaged as a result of the tornado. The tornado prompted the first ever tornado emergency issued by the National Weather Service in League City.
2023 Shell refinery explosion
In May 2023, a Shell petrochemical plant in Deer Park, causing a three-day blaze that resulted in toxic contamination in the air and water. The Shell plant had a long history of chemical incidents between 2016 and 2022, including 68 emissions events that released 974,847 pounds of toxic emissions into the air. The company had eight "excessive" events at the plant during that time.
2023 Emergency siren overhaul
Deer Park's 10 emergency warning sirens began experiencing failures over the years following a 2019 upgrade on the former siren system. In August 2023, the City of Deer Park replaced all 10 outdoor warning sirens with rotating, more efficient sirens. That also included strobe lights on each siren across the city to make fit for the hearing-impaired. 17-year-old deaf citizen William Stokes, presented the idea to the city during the replacement project. Emergency sirens are tested every Saturday at 12:00 PM.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.