It began with a ragtag settlers army under General Sam Houston defeated dictator General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna’s well-trained Mexican Army April 21, 1836, securing Texas’ independence from Mexico. The Houston Ship Channel and Port of Houston brought sea and trade to her back door in the 1870s. Simeon West of Illinois founded and named the town in 1892 after the large amount of deer that roamed the gulf plains. He dreamed of a “community of opportunity”. Years after the greatflood of 1900 and destruction of most homes, property, crops and livestock Deer Park struggled to meet that dream during a difficult infancy. Today, Deer Park flourishes with energy, the ports and a picturesque downtown.