History Of Houston, TX - Broken Down
What Is Houston, TX? Who Are The People Who Founded Houston, TX? Augustus Chapman Allen John Kirby Allen Where Did Houston, TX Get The Name? What Is The Political History Of Houston, TX? What Is The Economic History Of Houston, TX? What’s The Population History Of Houston, TX? What Is The Sports History Of Houston, TX? What’s The Museums History Of Houston, TX? What’s The Aviation History Of Houston, TX? What’s The Disaster’s History Of Houston, TX? What’s The Space History Of Houston, TX? What’s Next In The History Of Houston, TX? History Of Houston, TX - Broken DownWhat Is Houston, TX?Houston, TX is the 4th most populated city in the United States and the most populated in Texas. As of 2016, it was estimated that its population was approximately 2.3 Million people, and this alone was still more than Texas other major cities in Austin and Dallas combined. Sitting on 1,625 Square kilometers, this city also has the 3rd largest skyline in the country after New York and Chicago. It is the 9th largest city by area in the United States. The City is generally flat and this at times has the disadvantage of occasional flooding. This City is also referred to as the Bayou City because of the slow-moving rivers that move through the city and additionally help with keeping the region that occasionally floods have a proper drainage. Houston is bordered by the Galveston Bay that plugs into the Gulf of Mexico which has made is a major trade port due to the ability to access the sea and trade with the rest of the world. Its location compared to other major cities in Texas is being 266 km East of Austin, 400 km South of Dallas and 180 Km west of Louisiana's borders. The history of Houston, TX is tied down to its location and aristocrats who moved pieces to get it together.Who Are The People Who Founded Houston, TX?After Texas got its independence in April 1836, August the same year, two brothers Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen paid in the region of USD 1.40 per acre of land for 6642 acres of land near the Buffalo Bayou. Who exactly where these two brothers?Augustus Chapman AllenBorn on January 4, 1806, and died January 11, 1864, he was the younger of the two brothers to Sarah Chapman and Roland Allen of Canaseraga Village, New York presently hamlet of Sullivan. In his lifetime, Augustus was a professor of mathematics, a bookkeeper, a businessman, appointed United States consul for the port of Minotitlán and Tehuantepec amongst other notable duties and roles. He Married Charlotte Baldwin and had 4 children together but only one lived to adulthood. Charlotte inherited the wealth at Augustus' death and funded most of the cities developments post the Allen brothers to a point she is regarded as the mother of the city in the History of Houston, TX.John Kirby AllenBorn in 1810 and died August 15, 1838, was the elder brother of the two and a member of the Republic of Texas House of Representatives. John never got married in his lifetime but he had a tremendous influence on his brother and he was the one that introduced his brother Augustus into a business that was a major factor that enabled them to relocate to Texas and led to the founding of Houston. |
Where Did Houston, TX Get The Name?Sam Houston was Texas first president from independence and he stayed in power from 1836 to 1838. The City Houston was named after Him. When the Allen Brothers acquired the vast acres of land, at the suggestion of Charlotte who was Augustus' wife, the town-site was named after the war hero turned the first president of Texas, General Sam Houston along the Buffalo Bayou River. Houston as a city inherits its earliest heritage from this event and everything that ever got recorded about Houston started from this point. This naming point is now registered and has been engraved in the history of Houston, TX.What Is The Political History Of Houston, TX?From being founded in 1836 to being incorporated as a city a year later, the city is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States and the largest city without any zoning laws. In 1991 there was a referendum amendment that allowed elected officials to serve up to 3 terms from serving only 2 terms across 2 years. In 2015 the 3 term was replaced by a 2 term limit with 4 years per term. One can be elected up to 2 times for a 4 years' service per term after which they are no longer eligible to stand again for elections. The city adopted the U. S Justice department lineup from 1979 but with the growing population that exceeded 2.2 Million people, the 9 member council had to adjust to include 2 extra council districts on November 8, 2011, after holding an election. The biggest impact on the political scene of Houston has been the term limits with several lawmakers choosing to run for other offices before their terms have expired or when they expire. In 2005, following a flashback by former mayor Lee P. Brown who was quoted to have said, "the term limits limit incumbents from getting experience in the city government," had a follow up by another legislature who suggested that the 4 years 2 term limits are extended and/or if not doubled. There were even proposals to have the term limits abolished. In 2010 a term limits review commission was appointed by Bill White a former Houston city's mayor and this teams work came to a standstill when their proposals to have elected officials serving 2 four year terms failed because of a tie in the council vote. It was until this was put as a referendum for the voter to decide in 2015 did it become a success. One can now get elected twice for a 4-year term to serve Houston.What Is The Economic History Of Houston, TX?Houston is an economic powerhouse a reason for its rapidly growing population and development. The Economy's backbone has been energy but over the years there has been a lot of diversification in healthcare, aerospace, finance, information technology and several other industries. In 2012, the reported GDP of Houston was USD 449 billion which was the 4th largest by all cities across the United States. In 2013, over 18 of Fortune 500 companies had their headquarters in Houston. Houston has also been ranked as the top city for job creation in the United States in 2013 by auditing sources. In 1997, over 80 Japanese company subsidiaries had established offices in Houston. American Mobile network Carrier AT&T boasts of its largest subscription in Houston as well. Being a home to over 5000 energy firms, Houston is United States home for Oil and Gas. Oil discovery in 1901 at the Powel Field in Corsicana, a city near Houston has driven the economy of Houston up being a conducive route for trade and commerce. By the early 1920's some companies and individuals had already relocated and established themselves in this city. Houston became the commercial railroad for cotton by 1960.What’s The Population History Of Houston, TX?After the Allen brothers founded Houston in August 30, 1836, 4 days later they ran an advertisement on naming the town to honor President Houston. A huge success for the brothers was lobbying the Republic of Texas to award Houston as a temporary Capital for the nation. Their ability to persuade the government that they shall be giving them a free administration building was the tip on the icing. By the start of the year 1837, just a few tens resided in the town yet to become a city. However, by the time the nation's government convened in May same year, the number shot up to over 1000 and the town got incorporated as a city on Jun 5 of the same year. In 1839, Texas moved its capital to Austin and in the same year, a yellow fever epidemic that claimed lives of at least 1 in 8 people hit Houston. Being a port to the Galveston Bay, farmers in landlocked areas and slave masters still came to the city for trade. In 1900 after Galveston was hit by a hurricane and a discovery of oil in the region followed by Presidents Roosevelt's approval of a budget to create a shipment channel, the population could not be held back anymore as for the period moving to 1910, the population had already surpassed 20,000 and new developments over the years has brought similar population growth.What Is The Sports History Of Houston, TX?Houston has had 6 functional United States major league sports teams. Not all Houston's major league teams have won major honors, but some have been into existence as early as 1962 till to-date. The Major League Baseball team Houston Astros was founded in 1962 with its home ground at the Minute Maid Park won the First World Series in 2017. The Major League Basketball team Houston the Rockets founded in 1967 with its home at the Toyota Center won a back-to-back NBA Finals in 1994 and 1995. The National Football League team Houston Texans were founded in 2002 makes the first on the list of teams founded in Houston in the 21st Century. NRG Stadium is home to this team and as of August 2018 had not yet won any major title. The National Women's Soccer League team Houston Dash was founded in 2014 and has not yet won any major titles. BBVA Compass Stadium is home to this team. The Major League Rugby team the Houston SaberCats is the youngest on this list since it was founded in 2018 and with definitely no titles has its home at the Aveva Stadium.What’s The Museums History Of Houston, TX?Houston, TX is one of those cities with several museums and with over 15 Museums, the history of Houston, TX Museums could be interesting to understand how all these museums came up in a short time to fill all corners of the city. The oldest Museum that made history in Houston was the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston abbreviated as MFAH being founded in 1900. This Museum has more than 60,000 pieces established over a 300,000 square feet of exhibition space. It first opened its doors to the public in 1924.The Houston Museum of Natural Sciences was founded in 1909 by the Houston Museum and Scientific Society. It is famous for the exhibition of dinosaurs that were majorly collected from 1914 to 1930 and it has grown to be one of the most visited sites in Houston with over 1.5 million visitors each year. The Museum's glory has been long coming moving from downtown, Houston Zoo to moving to the Burke Baker Planetarium in 1964. The Museum was moved to Hermann Park after completion of the construction of the facility in 1969. The Museum is currently in this location. The Children's Museum of Texas was founded in 1980 by a consortium of parents who were looking for a way to elevate the early childhood development. The Museums first Location was at a leased space of Blaffer Gallery owned by the University of Houston but years later it moved to another leased space owned by the Star Engraving Company. In 1992 it moved to its current address at 1500 Binz. By 1998, the museum was recording an annual visitor’s turn up of over 700,000. There are other museum-history of Texas you can find out other than the above that equally exist in the History of Houston, TX. What’s The Aviation History Of Houston, TX?You can never ignore the fact that such a big population in Houston of over 2.3 Million people would deserve a workable aviation that supports the demanding populations need for travels domestically and to international destinations.The first ever established airport was the Hobby Airport that was first established as a privately owned airport in 1927 and over the years it has got its name switched from one to another notably Howard R. Hughes Airport and its present name that is derived from the 27th governor of Texas who was in power from 1917 to 1921. As of 2017, this airport handles over 190,000 airport operations. The annual passenger total was in the region of 13 million for the year as well. This Airport was the priority commercial airport in Houston until the opening of George Bush Intercontinental Airport in 1969. The Airport even shut down for several years because of the introduction of the Intercontinental and was only opened again after the traffic that was coming to Houston deemed it necessary in the history of Houston, TX. Probably the busiest and most important airport in Houston, the George Bush Intercontinental Airport came into play in 1969. Before this, a group of speculative businessmen bought the site in 1957 as they waited for a plan by the Houston City council to come up with a plan geared towards replacing Houston International Airport now known as the William P. Hobby Airport. The first known name of this new site was Jetero Airport site as a convenience to the holding company's name at the time Jet Era Ranch Corporation a company that these businessmen were behind. Houston Intercontinental Airport opened its doors to operations in June 1969 and took over all the operations of Hobby. In 1997, the city council by a landslide vote renamed the Airport to George Bush Intercontinental Airport after George H. W. Bush United States 41st President who was native from Texas and a leader of the nation between 1989 and 1993. As of 2016, the airport handles over 450,000 operations and over 40 Million passengers per year. What’s The Disaster’s History Of Houston, TX?Houston just like any other city or place has had its own line of disasters or has had to be used as a disaster evacuation point in the past. Before 1935, there were no recorded disasters in the direct history of Houston, TX.The earliest associated disaster was the 1900 Galveston hurricane that ended the Galveston Golden Era as a lucrative island for trade and most investors and those affected got evacuated to Houston. Houston being a generally flat land is prone to flooding and in 1935, it got its earliest ever recorded massive flooding that claimed under 10 lives. In 1961, the Hurricane Carla was the City’s first hurricane that hit the coast and damaged Houston with heavy winds and rainfall. Hurricane Alicia struck in 1983 and caused a loss of life of over 20 and billions of dollars in Losses. Hurricane Alicia was also the 1st disaster that caused over a billion dollar loss in Texas History. In 1994, Houston experienced Hurricane Rosa also known as "The Great Flood of 94. Hurricane Rosa killed 22 recorded people across Texas with over 500 injured. This Hurricane caused petroleum pipelines to burst and the rains it came with rose the San Jacinto water Basin levels highest then till the present day. In 2001 Tropical Storm Allison devastated Houston. It brought the city business area to a standstill causing deaths, destroying and flooding over 80,000 homes and leaving over 30,000 people homeless. The damages in billions of dollars were quantified in the region of USD 8.5 Billion. President George W. Bush designated 75 counties in the path of this Storm a disaster area to allow occupants apply and receive aid. This storm got Houston unprepared, and it has been termed as the 500-year event in the history of Houston, TX. In 2006 Houston experienced another flooding that was major following the Tropical Storm Allison. Homes and roads were filled up with water. In 2008, Hurricane Ike passed through Houston and caused power failures, wind damages, and flooding. In 2015 and 2016, Houston was hit by Floods that blocked parts or most of the city as well. In 2017, Houston experienced another devastating flooding in their History. Hurricane Harvey is a tie with Hurricane Katrina as the costliest disasters in the United States History with $125 Billion in losses as it was quantified for relief. At the helm of this disaster 1/3 of Houston was submerged in water. Almost everything material and property were damaged beyond repair. This put the economy at a standstill considering that if Houston were to be a nation it would be amongst the top 25 Countries with the highest GDP. This disaster meant a reconstruction period for the greater Houston Metropolitan region. What’s The Space History Of Houston, TX?When you are in Houston, everything is space. Have you ever wondered where Major League Baseball team Astros or the National Basketball team the Rockets get their names? Houston is the home to NASA or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This administration is housed at the Johnson Space Center. So how and when did the Johnson Space Center come into prominence?Johnson Space Center was formed on November 1, 1961, as a need for a facility for the Space Task Group of consultants the Langley Engineers who had to get Apollo program conducted. It was a requirement for the Langley Engineers for a facility they could easily test, research and administer all their programs. President John F. Kennedy had made it a task that at the end of the decade the United States needed to put a man on the moon. Through the Rice University, Humble Oil Company donated an open to lake land in Houston and from 1962 to 1963 the center was constructed and opened in September 1963, this was the beginning for the space History of Houston, TX. The center then had its first name as the Manned Spacecraft Center till it was renamed on August 27, 1973, after Lyndon B. Johnson after the Nations President who was a native of Texas, Houston's state. This center consists of 100 buildings over 1620 acres of land and because of this area, it was nicknamed the space city. This center plays a main role in training astronauts from the United States and partner countries. What’s Next In The History Of Houston, TX?The History of Houston, TX is only one that you would wish is televised and being an economic hub, the uptrend in population density is not about to go anywhere soon. This city has been characterized by a disastrous history and has never been prepared for any. |