Техас штатындағы Форт-Бенд округінің тарихы мен дамуы

County in Texas, United States

Fort Bend County is a county located in the U. S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days. The county seat is Richmond. The largest city located entirely within the county borders is Sugar Land. The largest city by population in the county is Houston; however, most of Houston's population is located in neighboring Harris County. Fort Bend County is included in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 822,779. In 2017, Forbes ranked it the fifth fastest growing county in the United States. In 2015, Fort Bend County became Texas's wealthiest county, with a median household income of $95,389 and a median family income of $105,944, surpassing Collin and Rockwall Counties since the 2000 census.

Before European settlement, the area was inhabited by Karankawa Indians. Spanish colonists generally did not reach the area during their colonization, settling more in South Texas. After Mexico achieved independence from Spain, Anglo Americans started entering from the east. In 1822, a group of Stephen F. Austin's colonists, headed by William Travis, built a fort at the present site of Richmond. The fort was called Fort Bend because it was built in the bend of the Brazos River. The city of Richmond was incorporated under the Republic of Texas along with 19 other towns in 1837. Fort Bend County was created from parts of Austin, Harris, and Brazoria Counties in 1838. Fort Bend developed a plantation economy based on cotton as the commodity crop. Planters had numerous African American slaves as laborers. By the 1850s, Fort Bend was one of six majority black counties in Texas. In 1860, the slave population totaled 4,127, more than twice that of the 2,016 whites. Few free Blacks lived there, as Texas refused them entry. While the area began to attract white immigrants in the late 19th century, it remained majority Black during and after Reconstruction. Whites endeavored to control freedmen and their descendants through violence and intimidation. Freedmen and their sympathizers supported the Republican Party because of emancipation, electing their candidates to office. The state legislature was still predominately white. By the 1880s, most white residents belonged to the Democratic Party. Factional tensions were fierce, as political elements split largely along racial lines. The Jaybirds, representing the majority of the Whites, struggled to regain control from the Woodpeckers, who were made up of some whites who were consistently elected to office by the majority of African Americans, as several had served as Republican officials during Reconstruction. Fort Bend County was the site of the Jaybird–Woodpecker War in 1888–89. After a few murders were committed, the political feud culminated in a gun battle at the courthouse on August 16, 1889, when several more people were killed and the Woodpeckers were routed from the county seat. Governor Lawrence Sullivan Ross sent in militia forces and declared martial law. With his support, the Jaybirds ordered a list of certain Blacks and Woodpecker officials out of the county, overthrowing the local government. The Jaybirds took over county offices and established a "White only pre primary," disenfranchising African Americans from the only competitive contests in the county. the last of the white primary cases.

In the 1960s, the first of several master planned communities that came to define the county were developed, marking the beginning of its transformation from a largely rural county dominated by railroad and oil and gas interests to a major suburban county dominated by service and manufacturing industries. Among the earliest such developments were Sugar Land's Sugar Creek and Missouri City's Quail Valley, whose golf course hosted the Houston Open during the 1973 and 1974 seasons of the PGA Tour. Another was First Colony in Sugar Land, a 9,700 acre development commenced in the 1970s by Houston developer Gerald D. Hines that eventually became the southwest Greater Houston area's main retail hub, anchored by First Colony Mall and Sugar Land Town Square. Since the 1980s, new communities have continued to develop, with Greatwood, New Territory, and Sienna (originally Sienna Plantation) among the more recent notable developments. In addition to continued development in the eastern part of the county around Sugar Land and Missouri City, the Greater Katy area began to experience rapid growth and expansion into Fort Bend County in the 1990s, led by the development of Cinco Ranch. By 2010, the county's population exceeded 500,000, and it had become the second largest county in the greater Houston area (behind Harris County). In 2017, Hurricane Harvey caused significant flooding in Fort Bend County, leading to the evacuation of 200,000 residents and over 10,000 rescues. The unprecedented flooding, the result of record rainfall and overflow from the Brazos River and Barker Reservoir, resulted in damage to or destruction of over 6,800 homes in the county.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 885 square miles (2,292 km2), of which 24 square miles (62 km2) (2.7%) are covered by water.

Commissioners Name Party First Elected Communities Represented  Judge KP George Democratic 2018 Countywide  Precinct 1 Vincent Morales Republican 2016 Arcola, Beasley, Fairchilds, Fresno, Greatwood, Needville, Orchard, Richmond, Rosenberg, Sienna Plantation  Precinct 2 Grady Prestage Democratic 1990 eastern Stafford, most of Missouri City east of FM 1092, Meadows Place, Mission Bend  Precinct 3 Andy Meyers Republican 1996 Cinco Ranch, Fulshear, Lakemont, Pecan Grove, Simonton, small portions of Sugar Land  Precinct 4 Dexter L. McCoy Democratic 2022 Most of Sugar Land, Missouri City west of FM 1092, New Territory, Riverstone

In contrast to greater Houston in general, Fort Bend County's economy is more diverse, with numerous service sector jobs in healthcare, energy, education, hospitality, and other areas. Major companies with a presence in the county include Schlumberger, Minute Maid, Fluor, and Sunoco's logistics operations in Sugar Land. The Houston Business Journal reported in 2010 that the diversity of industries promoted decades of rapid population growth. After Memorial Hermann Hospital and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital opened facilities in Fort Bend County, already home to local facilities for Houston Methodist Hospital in Sugar Land, as well as locally based OakBend Medical Center in Richmond, many doctors moved their offices to the county. Compared to Montgomery County, which has experienced rapid growth in corporate employment following ExxonMobil's decision to move its greater Houston operations to an area directly south of The Woodlands, Fort Bend County has yet to experience significant corporate growth, though Schlumberger recently announced plans to move its North American headquarters to Sugar Land.

The county does not have a hospital district. OakBend Medical Center serves as the county's charity hospital which the county contracts with.

Fort Bend County Libraries operates many libraries in the county. Houston Public Library operates one branch in the county, the Stimley Blue Ridge Neighborhood Library in Blue Ridge, Houston.

Local newspapers in the county include three weeklies: the Fort Bend Star, headquartered in Stafford; the Fort Bend Independent; and the Fort Bend Sun, headquartered in Sugar Land. The daily Fort Bend Herald and Texas Coaster focuses on news coverage in the Richmond Rosenberg area. Fort Bend County is also a major service area for the Houston Chronicle, which provides separate local coverage for the Sugar Land and Katy areas.

Fort Bend County officially created a department of public transportation in 2005 that provides commuter buses to Uptown, Greenway Plaza, and Texas Medical Center. It also provides demand and response buses to senior citizens and the general public that travel only in Fort Bend County. Parts of the county, such as Katy and Missouri City, participate in the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County and are served by several park and ride routes.

The TTC 69 component (recommended preferred) of the once planned Trans Texas Corridor went through Fort Bend County.