Learn About Sugar Land TX

Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, in the southwestern portion of the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan area. The city of Sugar Land is 20 miles southwest of downtown Houston. The city is centered around the intersection of Texas State Highway 6 and US Route 59.

Located in the fertile floodplain of the Brazos River, the present-day Sugar Land area was once home to a large sugar plantation in the 19th century. Sugar Land grew steadily as a company town after local sugar plantations were merged into Imperial Sugar Company in 1908. It became a city after it was incorporated in 1959.

Since then, Sugar Land has proliferated, alongside other edge cities around Houston, with the development of many master-planned communities boosting its population since the 1980s.

As one of Texas’ fastest-growing cities and most affluent cities, Sugar Land is a haven for high-income families. From 1990 to 2000, its population grew by 158%. Sugar Land also saw a 46% increase in jobs between 2000 and 2007. According to the 2010 census, the city had 78,817 residents. However, after annexing Greatwood and New Territory in December 2017, the city’s population grew to 118,488 as of 2019.

The city is home to Imperial Sugar’s headquarters; the refinery and distribution center of the company used to be there. In addition to the Imperial Sugar logo, the city seal also consists of the Crown of Imperial Sugar.

Sugar Land’s roots go back to the Mexican land grant made to Stephen F. Austin. As a result of the many varieties of oak trees on this land, Samuel M. Williams, one of the first settlers of this area, called it “Oakland Plantation.” Nathaniel Williams, the brother of Samuel M. Williams, purchased the land from Austin in 1838. They cultivated cotton, corn, and sugarcane on the plantation.

As the plantation developed, it became the center of social life along the Brazos River. Benjamin Terry and William J. Kyle purchased the Oakland Plantation in 1853 from the Williams family. Terry is known for naming the town.

The plantation was purchased by Colonel E. H. Cunningham soon after the Civil War after Terry and Kyle died. In 1879, he built a sugar-refining plant nearby and developed the town around it, platting the land and attracting settlers after the Civil War.

In 1906, the Kempner family, led by Isaac H. Kempner, purchased Ellis Plantation, one of the few plantations remaining in Fort Bend County after the Civil War.

The partnership acquired the adjacent 12,500-acre Cunningham Plantation, complete with a raw-sugar mill and sugar refinery, in 1908. They changed their name to Imperial Sugar Company.

A harsh winter destroyed most sugarcane crops at the turn of the 20th century. As part of the Kempner-Eldridge deal, Eldridge assumed the general manager role at the site and built the company-owned Sugar Land town.

Sugar Land lies on the route of the oldest railroad in Texas. These are located adjacent to the sugar refinery, west of the city, and directly through what was formerly known as the Imperial State Prison Farm. The area was primarily redeveloped into Telfair suburbs starting in the early 21st century.

Between the 1910s and 1959, Sugar Land was a virtually self-sufficient company town. The Imperial Sugar Company built schools, hospitals, and businesses to satisfy the needs of its workers and provide housing, food, and lodging for them. The Hill and Mayfield Park areas of Sugar Land still contain many original houses built by the Imperial Sugar Company that have been handed down from generation to generation.

A growing interest in establishing a municipal government accompanied the development of the company town. T. E. Harman became Sugar Land’s first mayor after voters made it a general-law city in 1959.

Per the US Census 2000, Sugar Land, with a population of 63,328, had the highest growth among Texas’ largest cities. Sugar Land replaced Galveston as the second-most important city in the Houston-Sugar Land Baytown metropolitan area in 2003, when the metro area’s official name changed to Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown. Officially, the metro area is referred to as Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land.

Sugar Land is bordered by Houston to the northeast, and the east, by Stafford, Missouri City, and Meadows Place. According to the United States Census Bureau, Sugar Land occupies 34.0 square miles of land.

The city of Sugar Land is home to two major waterways. Along the Brazos River, which flows into Brazoria County, the southwestern and southern portions of the city were developed. From the northwest to the eastern edge of Missouri City, Oyster Creek runs. As part of new master-planned communities, Sugar Land has built many artificial lakes that are connected to Oyster Creek or the Brazos River.

According to the 2010 census, the city had 78,817 residents, 26,709 households, and 21,882 families. 52.0% of the city’s residents are white, 7.4% are black, 0.2% are Native American, 35.3% are Asian, 2.34% are of other races, and 2.8% are mixed races. 10.6% of the population is Hispanic or Latino.

A family size of 3.25 and a household size of 2.90 were the average.

Houston’s energy industry employs most of Sugar Land’s white-collar, university-educated workforce.

The Smart Financial Centre is an indoor concert venue in Sugar Land that is the only one of its kind in Greater Houston. Multiple events can be held there, including concerts, cultural events, and graduations.

A major highway through the city, Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59, has undergone a major widening project in recent years to accommodate the daily commuters in the region. There are eight main lanes, two diamond lanes, and six continuous frontage road lanes in the finished section of the freeway from east of State Highway 6 to just west of State Highway 99. To accommodate the growth near Richmond/Rosenberg and in western Fort Bend County, the freeway is undergoing a significant expansion west of the city. In addition, it is being upgraded to meet federal highway standards to reflect its newly minted status as an interstate highway.

The United States Highway 90 Alternate also runs through Sugar Land from west to east, traversing a historic area of the city known as Old Sugar Land. Before the construction of Interstate 69, US Highway 90A was Sugar Land’s primary thoroughfare, which is now widened to eight lanes with a 30-foot median between State Highway 6 and Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59.

Located in Sugar Land, State Highway 6 runs from north to southeast through the 10,000-acre master-planned community of First Colony. From Brooks Street/First Colony Blvd to about 3/4 miles north of US Highway 90A, a freeway section opened in 2008.

State Highway 99/Grand Parkway currently runs through the master-planned communities of New Territory and River Park. Construction of the original highway began in 1994, with toll lanes added in 2014. The highway is expected to be extended to Alvin in Brazoria County from its current terminus south of Interstate 69/US 59 in the coming months.

Eldridge Road, also known as Texas FM 1876, is a state highway running north-south through north Sugar Land. The highway runs through many established neighborhoods and forms the western border of Sugar Land Business Park.

The city of Sugar Land purchased Sugar Land Regional Airport in 1990 from a private company. It is Greater Houston’s fourth-largest airport.

Sugar Land is served by the zip codes: 77469, 77478, 77479, 77487, 77496, and 77498.

The coordinates for Sugar Land are 29.5984° N, 95.6226° W.