The city was settled in 1897 along what is now Boston Avenue. It was incorporated in 1940. It was settled by Dutch immigrants on land sold by the Kansas City Southern railroad. It is part of the Beaumont−Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. Nederland is also a part of an area known as "the Golden Triangle," which includes Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange. The city is next to the Jack Brooks Regional Airport in Port Arthur, which serves the nearby cities of Beaumont and Port Arthur.