Building a City

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	Residents started to move into Lake Jackson in 1943.

As Camp Chemical was being built, Dow President Willard Dow, his brother Alden, and A.P. Beutel set out to find a location to build a permanent city. They explored nearby areas by horseback, becoming intrigued by an area not far from Freeport that was once the Abner Jackson plantation.

After investigating further, Dow bought 6,500 acres for $400,000 to build a city from scratch. A freshwater lake on the property was known as Lake Jackson, so the men decided to give their new town the same name. Alden Dow, an acclaimed architect, was given the task of designing Lake Jackson, and in early 1942 workers started to clear the land. By the summer, paved streets such as Winding Way and Yaupon had already popped up.

Alden designed Lake Jackson as a home for 5,000 people, giving the city winding and meandering streets because he felt there should be something of a surprise around each turn. Alden showed his sense of humor by giving many of the streets clever names like "This Way" and "That Way."

For homes, people were able to choose from six unique Alden Dow designs. The first residents moved into Lake Jackson at the end of 1943. In 1944, Lake Jackson incorporated and received from Dow everything the company had built for the city at no charge.