Houston, Texas

Houston is the largest city within the state of Texas, fourth in the United States, and the second-largest economic area of the Gulf Coast region. The city is the county seat of Harris County, the third most populous county in the country. A portion of southwest Houston extends into Fort Bend County and a small portion in the northeast extends into Montgomery County.

History

Main article: History of Houston

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See also: Historical events of Houston

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Houston's founding

Two New York real estate promoters, John Kirby Allen and Augustus Chapman Allen, were seeking a location where they could begin building "a great center of government and commerce." In August 1836, they purchased 6,642 acres (27 km²) of land from T. F. L. Parrot, John Austin's widow for $9,428. The Allen brothers named their town after Sam Houston and persuaded the Texas Congress to designate the site as the temporary capital of the new Republic of Texas.

Related Topics:
New York - August - 1836 - Sam Houston - Capital - Republic of Texas

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After it was established, it started out as a hamlet. Gail and Thomas H. Borden surveyed and mapped the town in typical grid fashion, with wide streets running parallel and perpendicular to the bayous. The city was granted incorporation on June 5, 1837, and James S. Holman became the first mayor. That same year, Houston also became the county seat of Harrisburg County, which was renamed Harris County in 1839. Houston was then made as a temporary capital of the Republic of Texas. On January 14, 1839, the capital had been moved to Austin, known as Waterloo at the time.

Related Topics:
Hamlet - Bayous - Incorporation - June 5 - 1837 - Mayor - County seat - Harris County - 1839 - Austin - Waterloo

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19th century

The early settlers used lumber to build frame houses, ditches for drainage, and pigs to clean the streets. Lawlessness, epidemics and financial problems prompted the people of the community to attempt improvements of the conditions under which they were living. It was agreed by many that a Chamber of Commerce was needed to work out Houston's problems. As a result, Senator Robert Wilson introduced a bill in the Congress of the Republic on November 26, 1838, to charter the Houston Chamber of Commerce. Yellow fever struck periodically and in 1839 the disease killed about 12 percent of the population. Because many of the first settlers were from the South, they endorsed the slavery-plantation system. The slaves lived scattered through the neighborhoods and there were few free blacks in the city.

Related Topics:
Lumber - Ditch - Chamber of Commerce - 1838 - Yellow fever - South - Slavery - Plantation - Slave

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In 1840, the city was divided into four wards, each with different functions in the community. The wards are no longer political divisions, but their names are still used. The Republic of Texas started to promote colonization of the state as the Allen brothers started to promote their town.

Related Topics:
1840 - Ward - Political division

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By 1860 Houston was beginning to emerge as a commercial and railroad hub for the export of cotton. Railroad spurs from the Texas inland converged in the city where they met the lines to the ports of Galveston and Beaumont. During the Civil War, Houston served as a headquarters for General John Bankhead Magruder and served as his organizing point for the Battle of Galveston. Houston saloon keeper, Dick Dowling, also became the city's first famous personality after his victory at the battle of Sabine Pass in 1863.

Related Topics:
1860 - Civil War - John Bankhead Magruder - Battle of Galveston - Dick Dowling - Sabine Pass

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After the Civil War, Houston businessmen initiated efforts to widen the city's extensive system of bayous for larger commercial transport between downtown and the nearby Port of Galveston. After several privately financed dredging projects in the 1860's and 1870's, the United States Government took over the Houston Ship Channel project in 1881.

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20th century

Shipbuilding during World War II spurred further growth; and the establishment (1961) nearby of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Manned Spacecraft Center (renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in 1973) brought the aerospace industry. In 1948, several suburbs were incorporated into the city limits, and it spreads wide across the prairie. In 1981, Kathryn J. Whitmire became the city's first woman mayor. Its first African American mayor, Lee P. Brown, was elected in 1997. Houston benefited from high oil prices in the 1970s but suffered in the 1980s as oil prices collapsed. Since the early 1980s, Houston has made efforts to diversify its economy and reduce its dependence on oil.

Related Topics:
World War II - 1961 - Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center - 1973 - Aerospace - 1948 - Suburb - City limits - Prairie - 1981 - Kathryn J. Whitmire - African American - Lee P. Brown - 1997 - Oil

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The new millennium

The city suffered catastrophic flooding in June 2001 after Tropical Storm Allison stalled over the city. The storm caused 22 deaths and over $5 billion in damage to the city, although the city is completely rebuilt now.

Related Topics:
June - 2001 - Tropical Storm Allison

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Current events

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina (August 2005), Houston was providing shelter to over 25,000 refugees from New Orleans, Louisiana in various facilities around the city, including the infrequently used Reliant Astrodome stadium. This unprecedented situation is expected to last several months, and involves Houston's public school system providing education for the children staying there. According to CNN, around 230,000 people from the New Orleans metropolitan area are now living in Houston, whether in shelters or elsewhere. Since many of these people are poor, had no property insurance, and are unwilling to wait for a long period to return to New Orleans, the city could see a dramatic migration of new permanent residents.

Related Topics:
Hurricane Katrina - August - 2005 - New Orleans, Louisiana - Reliant Astrodome - CNN

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Many residents evacuated when Hurricane Rita approached the Gulf Coast. Rita left little damage in the Houston area, and it hit Beaumont, Texas, Lake Charles, Louisiana, and areas surrounding the two cities the hardest.

Related Topics:
Hurricane Rita - Beaumont, Texas - Lake Charles, Louisiana

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