Formerly Conroe Creosoting Company (Conroe, Texas)

USA / Texas / Conroe / Conroe, Texas / Texas State Highway 105 (East Davis Street), 1776
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The EPA updated their review in June, 2013
www.epa.gov/region6/6sf/pdffiles/conroe-creosote-tx.pdf
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Site is located in Conroe, Montgomery County, approximately 30 miles north of Houston, Texas. Aproximately 15,000 people live within two miles of the site. The site consists of 147 acres and is a former wood treating facility. There is a residential community to the east, a wooded area to the north, and commercial activities to the west and south. The shallow water-bearing zone is 60 feet deep and is currently not being used. The first water-bearing zone used for domestic supply is 125 feet deep. The City of Conroe water supply is 400 to 1000 feet below the surface.

SITE OVERVIEW:
A long abandoned creosote plant stands silent yet potentially lethal on Highway 105 East and FM 1314. Conroe Creosote Company, a multi-million dollar operation was managed since 1944 by the Hugh Montgomery Hawthorne family. Upon his early death from a heart attack in 1952, his widow, Charline Hawthorne, managed the family's business until she died in 1979. Land surrounding the facility is owned by the City of Conroe, while the plant property is owned by Montgomery County. It was taken from the family for non-payment of taxes in 1997.

The land consists of 147 acres including Hawthorne Lake and a drainage ditch which empties into Stewarts Creek. Wood treatment plants, such as Conroe Creosote, used pentachlorophenol, a preservative and creosote for telephone poles, bridge supports and railroad ties. Dioxin is a byproduct of pentachlorophenol and has a potential danger of causing cancer.

There were three treatment facilities used: wolmanized wood used for decks and fences, pressurized wood, and the oldest is creosote using poly-nuclear aeromatic hydrocarbons. Copper chromomatic arsenic and furans are also known chemicals to be found in such plants.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   30°19'16"N   95°26'8"W

Comments

  • I always wondered about the railroad spur here.
  • People who worked there brought friends & family to the pond for decades to fish & swim. I have lived here since 1977 & this was not the only site.
This article was last modified 7 years ago