The history of the city of La Porte and its neighboring communities is laden with important events and personalities. Pioneers began settling the area 10 years before Texas won its independence from Mexico; the land that was to become the cities of Morgan's Point, Shoreacres, Lomax, and La Porte was home to such Texas luminaries as Gen. Sidney Sherman, Gov. Ross Sterling, Andrew Jackson Houston, and James Morgan. The beauty of the area attracted legions of summer visitors, including Sam Houston and Dr. Ashbel Smith. Years later, Texas oil pioneers looked to the shores of La Porte's Galveston Bay to build summer places. La Porte was legally organized January 1, 1892, and in over a century of ups and downs has remained steadfast in preserving the natural beauty that is its legacy, the friendliness that is its nature, and the educational excellence to which the city's founders aspired. Today, La Porte is a unique mix of quaint small-town living with big-city amenities.