Lumberton is a town in Hardin County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,554 at the 2020 census, up from 11,943 at the 2010 census. Lumberton is the home of Village Creek State Park. The town is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area.

Historical development

The town was established as a stop on the Gulf, Beaumont and Kansas City Railway that was built through the area in 1894. Serving the local sawmills and lumber camps, the post office was established at Lumberton in 1909. In 1914, the post office was relocated to the Fletcher site nearby, which was a major sawmill until the mid-1920s. The eastern border of the city is Village Creek, a southeastward-flowing tributary of the Neches River.

The Eastex Freeway (comprising US 69, 96, and US 287) runs north from Beaumont to the southern border of Lumberton, where it splits into two separate highways, both running north to south, with Highway 96 in the eastern portion of the city and Highways 69 and 287 in the western portion. The two highways house the majority of the commercial development on the city. US 96 leads north-northeast to Silsbee, while Highway 69/287 leads northwest to Kountze, the Hardin County seat. Beaumont is to the south.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Lumberton has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa on climate maps.

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Demographics

{| class="wikitable"

|+Lumberton racial composition as of 2020<br /> (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Race

!Number

!Percentage

|-

|White (NH)

|11,755

|86.73%

|-

|Black or African American (NH)

|74

|0.55%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native (NH)

|49

|0.36%

|-

|Asian (NH)

|163

|1.2%

|-

|Pacific Islander (NH)

|6

|0.04%

|-

|Some Other Race (NH)

|32

|0.24%

|-

|Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH)

|504

|3.72%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino

|971

|7.16%

|-

|Total

|13,554

|

|}

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 13,554 people, 4,920 households, and 3,812 families residing in the city.

As of the 2010 census Lumberton had a population of 11,943. The ethnic and racial makeup of the population was 92.9% non-Hispanic white, 0.4% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 1.0% some other race, and 1.3% reporting two or more races.

As of the census

  • Debra Jo Fondren, 1978 Playboy Playmate of the year
  • Trey Mitchell, America's Strongest Man in 2018

Notable events

In October 1994, heavy rains (10–25&nbsp;inches in five days) resulted in a severe flood over southeastern portions of Texas which damaged and destroyed homes across the region and resulted in 22 flood-related deaths. Lumberton suffered significant property damage, particularly in the Pine Island Bayou and Village Creek areas.

In 2005, Lumberton resident Mike Smith was elected to the LISD School Board at the age of 19. Smith became the youngest individual to be on a board of education in the state of Texas. In April 2007, Smith became the youngest man to testify in front of the Texas House of Representatives during the 2007 legislative session.

On September 24, 2005, Lumberton made national headlines after suffering a direct hit from Hurricane Rita; on September 13, 2008, Lumberton made national headlines again for having another direct hit from Hurricane Ike. On August 28, 2017, Hurricane Harvey hit Lumberton and approximately half of the community was submerged again.

References

  • City of Lumberton official website