Groves
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3rd Largest city in Jefferson County. Visit Groves, home of the Texas Pecan Festival, held in September. Acces to Houston in 1 hour; Lake Charles Casino boats in 1 hour and everything else the area has to offer.
Annual Pecan Festival Draws Upwards to 50,000.
The Groves Chamber of Commerce established the Groves Pecan Festival in 1968 as a community wide celebration coinciding with the harvest from the 6,000 pecan trees planted in 1910. It started as a one day affair and the the naming of a leading community leader, "Mr. Groves". In 1970, the first Pecan Queen Pageant was held. The Pecan Festival has since grown into a two week event with state and nation-wide participation.
The Pecan Festival is a family oriented, area wide celebration with events for every member of the family. There are also a vast array of activities to interest all hobbists, sports enthusiasts, competitors, and homemakers.
Because the Groves Pecan Festival is a "tribute to Texas agriculture, pride, and quality of life; the House of Representatives of the 72nd Legislature declared the Annual Groves Pecan Festival to be the official Texas Pecan Festival."
Area Background
Groves had its beginning in 1886 when Sam Lee moved his family from Sabine Lake settlement in Port Arthur into a house on 640 acres he had purchased.
Rice farming was the main occupation of the few settlers in the Groves area around the early 1900's.
One of the old tales of the early history of the are recounts a group of these rice farmers drilling for water on a site where Groves Elementary stands today. To their great disma, they struck oil at about 800 feet, so they filled the well and went elsewhere for water. It is possible that if the group had realized the value of their discovery, that Groves, instead of Beaumont, would have had the distonction enjoyed by Spindletop today.
Instead of derricks, however, other historical landmarks were to become Groves distinction. In1910, Wiley Choate, then employed by Griffin Brothers Nursery, supervised the planting of 6,000 pecan trees that have made Groves one of the most beautiful communities in this area. These trees were set out in rows over a 385 acre tract. This set in motion events which lead to the Groves Pecan Festival of today.
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