Since 1837, schooners and sternwheelers have been navigating the Neches River to the city of Beaumont, 41 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico. The three-foot depth of Sabine Lake between the river's mouth and the Gulf limited passage to shallow-draft vessels. Surveys after 1852 recommended navigation improvements, and dredging of a 12-foot-deep channel at Sabine Pass began in 1876.

Competition appeared in 1897 when a new railroad passed through Beaumont to terminate at Sabine Lake. There Port Arthur was established and a 25-foot-deep canal was dug from the Gulf to the new city. Other railroads and Beaumont businesses then supported extension of the new canal and deep-dredging of the Neches.

In 1911, Beaumont shared half the cost with the Federal government of dredging a 25-foot-deep channel. One year later a Wharf and Dock Commission was appointed by Mayor Emmett A. Fletcher (1867-1943); Charles E. Walden (1865-1938) was its first chairman. The deep water port and Sabine-Neches waterway were officially opened in 1916. The Port of Beaumont Navigation District was created by the Texas Legislature.