Joseph Grigsby (1771-1841) and his family migrated from Kentucky to the Sabine area in 1827. He is said to have been the first grower of cotton in East Texas. In 1834 he received a grant of 17 labors, or 3,009 acres, of land on the Neches, where he built a wharf for sidewheel steamers and founded the town of Grigsby's Bluff. He served in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th congresses of the Republic of Texas. His settlement became Port Neches, and his family gave many leaders to Texas. A huge pecan tree at Texaco Refinery, 6 blocks southeast, marks the site of Grigsby's Bluff.