According to the Pearland Historical Society, a peddler came to Pearland selling "Magnolia Trees." However, after the trees finally flowered, they grew figs. These figs grew larger than figs in other areas. Due to their origins, the new variety was named the "Magnolia Fig". Large orchards were planted around San Leon, Alcoa, Alvin, Friendswood, Pearland, and other areas in Brazoria and Galveston County. According to the Texas State History Association, Galveston and Brazoria County were the top fig-producing counties from 1900 to 1930.

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Fig trees were also more practical and profitable than the citrus and pear trees that previously existed in Pearland. They bend instead of snapping, recover faster from wind damage, and can regrow better than pear trees. After the Storm of 1900 and the one in 1915, farmers preferred crops that could survive hurricanes to protect their initial investment. Pear and citrus trees take longer to mature compared to fig trees, which can produce fruit in 2 - 3 years. Figs also had multiple uses: as preserves, jams, dried figs, and canned figs, which could be shipped by the railroad.

 

Prior to the Great Depression, fig growing and processing was a multi-million dollar industry with several thousand acres in the area dedicated to the Magnolia Fig. Pearland, Alvin, Friendswood, Dickinson, League City, and San Leon had fig processing plants. The one in Pearland was called the Pearland Canning Company. Its exact location is not certain, but it was likely near the train depot. However, most of the plants went bankrupt during the depression. The Pearland plant employed 75 - 100 people, most of whom were women. In 1930, there were 28 fig processing plants between Beaumont and Victoria according to Roger May, the owner of the J. R. May fig processing plant in Friendswood. By the 1970s, the fig industry was too expensive to maintain due to rising land costs and costs of production.

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According to the Pearland Historical Society, Frances and Bert Jamison had a small fig orchard for their home cannery business in Pearland until the mid 1990s when she was the only person in the Unites States still processing Magnolia Figs. Her goods were sold throughout Texas.

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If Pearland had been named 30 years later, it could have been called "Figland."