Lake Jackson, Texas

Lake Jackson is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, United States, within the Greater Houston metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,849.[5]

In 1942 a portion of Lake Jackson was first developed as a company town for workers of the Dow Chemical Company; it developed 5,000 acres on the former Abner Jackson Plantation. An oxbow lake was also named after the planter, whose house was located at the lake. Minor ruins of the Lake Jackson Plantation can now be seen in a park at the site.

The city was built in the early 1940s as a planned community, designed by Alden B. Dow of Midland, Michigan for workers in support of a new plant of the Dow Chemical Company, which his father owned. The City of Lake Jackson was incorporated March 14, 1944, and voted for home rule ten years later in 1954.

The city of Lake Jackson is located in south-central Brazoria County, and is bordered to the east by the cities of Clute and Richwood, and to the southwest by the Brazos River. Texas State Highway 288, the Nolan Ryan Expressway, runs through the city, leading 10 miles (16 km) north to Angleton, the county seat, 52 miles (84 km) north to downtown Houston, and 9 miles (14 km) southeast to Freeport on the Gulf of Mexico.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Lake Jackson has a total area of 20.9 square miles (54.2 km2), of which 19.5 square miles (50.4 km2) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2), or 7.11%, is water.

In September 2020, brain-eating amoeba were detected in the Lake Jackson drinking water supply resulting in the death of a 6 year old boy.[16] Eleven samples were taken around the city, and of those, three returned a preliminary positive results: the hose bib at the victim’s home, a hydrant at a dead end street, and a storage tank at the city splash pad.[17] This resulted in Brazosport Water Authority issuing a do not use order on tap water in late September 2020.[17]

In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.41% under the age of 18, 5.61% from 20 to 24, 12.51% from 25 to 34, 20.60% from 35 to 49, 20.10% from 50 to 64, and 12% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.06 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.