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^ Historical Overview of La Porte incorporated on August 10, 1892, La Porte is the oldest incorporated town in Harris County. It began as a real estate speculation by a group of Denver promoters. Included in the group were ' three brothers - A.M. York, Ed York, and J.H. York -Tom Lee, a railroad man, and I.R. Holmes, a town builder. ' ~.R. Holmes was instrumental in founding a number of towns in the West, including Garden City, Kansas; Holmes, Colorado; and Greeley, Colorado. While in Houston on business, he took an ' excursion boat down Buffalo Bayou to Morgan's Point. The "Gulf Coast County" was attracting speculators who were interested in developing the area. Among the towns that were founded about the same time were La Porte, Alvin, Deer Park, Webster, and Seabrook. Mr. Holmes saw an ' I opportunity in the area that was to b~ La Porte. He returned to Denver and interested the York brothers and Tom Lee. They purchased most of ' the land that now comprises La Porte and Morgan's Point. The investors recognized the value of the land and Morgan's Point as a potential seaport and decided to move the town inland. They ' quickly had the land surveyed and the roads graded. The first building erected was a livery stable where mules and equipment were kept. The workmen slept in the loft and jokingly called it the Palace. It later became the Palace Livery Stable. The first lots were sold on January 1, 1892 to Mr. Emile Sereau of nearby Red Bluff. Mr. Sereau immediately erected a mercantile store that operated in La Porte until the 1940's. The investors' plan was to advertise in the northern newspapers to lure excursionists to the area to visit the new town. Tom Lee organized excursion trains that brought people down to see the wonders of the Gulf Coast. The fare was $25 and was refunded if a lot was purchased. To fumished the excursionists a place to stay, the investors quickly built two huge hotels -the Artesian on Main Street, and the Sylvan, near what was to become Sylvan Beach. One of the visitors was Madame Martha Fontaine-Besson of London and Paris who had seen La Porte advertised at the Chicago World's Fair. She came to La Porte, purchased land, and built athree- story brick building. She returned to England before the building was fumished and never returned to see it. ~n 1898, a bank panic made cash very scarce and the investors fell on hard times. A Galveston banking firm held mortgages on most of the property and foreclosed on it, including property to which the homeowners thought they had clear title.