Beaumont was settled in 1825 by Noah Tevis, from Tennessee. By 1840 the town's inhabitants had entered the lumber business. After the American Civil War Beaumont thrived with the demand for its lumber. Rice   plantings increased,   and in 1892 the first rice-polishing mill in the United States was built   in the city. Beaumont's status as a major oil-refining center began in 1901 after the discovery of oil at Spindletop, a small hill on the outskirts of the city. Gulf, Mobil, and Texaco oil companies were born here at that time. Spindletop was the first large oil field discovered in the United States. During and after World War II petrochemical industries, including synthetic rubber manufacturing, began to develop.