B. F. TERRY: Benjamin Franklin Terry’s mother moved to Texas in 1834 from their home in Kentucky via Mississippi. Orphaned at a young age he was raised on the family plantation in Brazoria County. At 20 he took control of the business. In 1851 Terry won the contract to construct the first railroad in Texas: the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado. The following year he purchased the Oakland sugar plantation nearby and added considerably to his already sizable net worth. In 1861 Terry and Thomas Lubbock were named aides to General James Longstreet of the Confederate Army. Soon the Confederate War Department granted the men the authority to organize a cavalry unit, Terry’s Texas Rangers. They fought with valor at the first Battle of Manassas. Terry was killed in the Battle of Woodsonville. He was praised in the Texas state senate by Governor Frank Lubbock who said “no braver man ever lived-no truer patriot ever died.” 1
» B. F. TERRY: Grave Marker in Glenwood Cemetery
B. J. LEWIS: This street is named for a black pastor who lived in the Acres Homes area. His ministry was at the Progressive Missionary Baptist Church which he founded. 2
B. P. AMOCO: This corporation can trace its roots to 1866 when Charles Lockhart began shipping and storing crude and refined oil products. Today it is one of the world’s largest energy companies and consists of Amoco, ARCO, British Petroleum and Burmah Castrol. The company explores for oil and gas, operates refineries and petrochemical plants and produces solar power. 3
BACCHUS: He was the Roman god of wine. In Greek mythology his name is Dionysus. 4
BACE: The Bace family purchased a farm on the south side of Katy Road that originally belonged to the Beinhorns. J. D. Bace was a land developer. (See Beinhorn.) 5
BACLIFF: Once solely a weekend resort, it was originally called Clifton-by-the-Sea. In the 1960s the name was changed to Bacliff, a combination of its location on Galveston Bay and the old name of Clifton. 6
BAGBY: Thomas M. – Born in Virginia in 1814 he moved to Houston in 1837. Bagby was a commission merchant and prosperous cotton factor. He was a Freemason and member of the Presbyterian Church. Bagby was a founder of the Library and the Julia Ideson Building stands on the site of his residence. The Houston Public Library grew out of the Houston Lyceum that he chartered March 20, 1848. Bagby was also interested in horticulture, especially roses. One of the most famous rosebushes, a Lady Banksia, was trained across the entire length of Bagby’s front porch and was known for its profuse output of blossoms. He was one of the founders of the First National Bank in 1866, the city’s first bank with a national charter. It failed and was taken over by B.A Shepherd in 1867. (See Shepherd.) 7
BAILEY: James Briton “Brit” – He was born in North Carolina in 1779. He fought in the War of 1812. Bailey arrived in Texas in about 1818 and settled near the Brazos River. He named the place Bailey’s Prairie. He fought in two battles that preceded the Texas Revolution – Jones Creek (1824) and Velasco (1832). Bailey was known for his eccentric behavior. His will stated he should be buried standing up, facing west, with his rifle at his side and a whiskey jug between his feet. He did not live to see Texas win her independence as he died in a cholera epidemic in 1832. Legend says at night Bailey’s ghost called “Bailey’s Light” wanders the prairie lands here in search of more whiskey. 8
BAILEY: James – A number of Fourth Ward streets are named for early Houston mayors and I believe this is the case here as well. Bailey was mayor in 1846, the year that Texas was admitted to the Union. Among the major public works projects during his administration were drainage systems to help reduce the perennial threat of yellow fever. 9
BAIRD: C. L. – When Katy, Texas incorporated in 1945, this gentleman was elected the city’s first mayor. 10
BAKER: Basil – Born in Virginia in 1804, he moved to the area near where Decker’s Prairie is today. 11
BAKER: Hance – An early Baytown pioneer, Baker‘s home was used in 1844 to organize the first Methodist church in the area. Originally called Alexander Chapel after a well-known minister, it is now known as Cedar Bayou United Methodist Church. Baker allowed the congregation to use his home for services until they built a small log church building in 1847. (See Alexander.) 12
BAKER: Mosley – This Alabaman came to Texas in 1834 to join the fight for independence. He was a landowner in Fort Bend County. During the Revolution Captain Mosley’s heroic stand at San Felipe caused the Mexican army to retreat down river to cross the Brazos. He fought and was wounded at the Battle of San Jacinto. He served in the Congress of the Republic of Texas in 1838-9. He died of yellow fever in 1848. 13
BAKER: Orestes J. – Born in Alabama this black librarian earned degrees at Morehouse College (A. B.), Hampton Library School (B. L. S.) and Columbia University (M. L. S.). In 1931 he was made head librarian at Prairie View A & M University, a position he would hold until his retirement. In addition Baker was Administrative Assistant to the University’s President from 1946-1966 as well as President of Prairie View Employees Credit Union for 18 years. 14
» BAKER: Street sign on Prairie View A&M campus
BAKER: The Baker family settled this area east of Katy, Texas in the 1800s. Anna Baker was the first female school bus driver for the Katy ISD. In 2006 her grandson, Craig, caused quite a stir when a group of Moslems bought property next door to his stone cutting business to build a mosque and demanded he move the operation elsewhere. He declined the offer and exercising his rights as a rural landowner announced construction a pig racing track. More than 100 people showed up for the first day of racing. The whole flap finally died down. 15
BAKER: William R. – Research strongly indicates this street was named for Houston’s mayor from 1880 to 1886. He later owned an interest in the Houston Post and was president of City Bank of Houston. Baker was the developer of the Sixth Ward. He was also president of the Houston & Texas Central Railroad. 17
BALDWIN: Horace Rice – Baldwin’s sister Charlotte was the wife of Houston founder Augustus Allen. They were children of a wealthy New York doctor. Horace came to Houston in the 1830s to join his sister. He was a talented man and within a few years he was elected mayor in 1844. Baldwin was a nephew of William Marsh Rice. (See Rice.) 18
BALL: George – Born in New York in 1817, he moved to Galveston in 1839 and opened a dry goods store. He learned the banking business as a director of Commercial & Agricultural Bank, the first incorporated bank in Texas. With that knowledge he opened his own bank, Ball, Hutchens & Company, in 1854. Ball was a generous philanthropist contributing to charities, hospitals and schools. Ball High School is also named for him. 19
BALTHASAR: He is one of the three Wise Men from the East who are mentioned as bringing gifts to the newborn Jesus in the New Testament. It is curious that we have no streets named for the other two - Gaspar and Melchior. 20
BALTIMORE & OHIO: Started in 1828, this railroad ran from Baltimore, Maryland to its terminus on the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia. 21
In his 11 terms as Houston’s mayor the “Old Grey Fox,” Oscar Holcombe, acquired a number of political enemies. According to the Houston Chronicle the mud slinging between the pro and anti-Holcombe forces became particularly ugly during the 1952 campaign. Councilman Louie Welch announced during his campaign for the City’s top job that “When elected I will not build boulevards on the prairie that start nowhere and go nowhere and serve only the needs of a real estate promoter.” The leader of the anti-Holcombe crowd, former City attorney Lewis Cutrer, pointed out that Welch had backed Holcombe on 54 votes in a 20 month period to extend South Park Boulevard, Belfort Boulevard and Wayside Drive. Candidate Welch’s memory was Clintonesque in his inability to recall these votes. Cutrer’s response was classic: “Personally I don’t feel that his plea of ignorance on these 54 occasions is a very sound platform on which to base a campaign for mayor.” 4
BAMMEL: Charles - A small north Harris County community and road remember this Houstonian of German descent who opened a general store, Bammel & Kuehnle Merchandise, in 1915. He was later named postmaster of Westfield, a station on the International-Great Western Railroad. (See Westfield Village.) 22
BANBURY: See sidebar All Things English, page 175.
BANKER: (See Stavinoha.)
BANKS: John L. or William W. – See sidebar Houston Streets Named for Men Killed During World War I, page 22.
BANKS: See sidebar Southampton’s English Streets, page 255.
BARBARA: This West University Place lane is named for Barbara Page, an investor in the Pemberton Company. Her husband, Dr. J. H. Page, was also a shareholder in that real estate development firm. (See Pemberton.) 23
BARBARELLA: Jane Fonda played this leading character in the 1968 science-fiction movie of the same name.
BARBERS HILL: This road recalls the first settler of the area near Mont Belvieu, Amos Barber. A rancher, he built his house on the high ground in the area called the “Hill” in 1849. The town of Barbers Hill sprang up near the ranch. In 1890 the name of the city was changed to Mont Belvieu, French for “Mount Beautiful View,” to avoid confusion by postal authorities with other Texas towns. 24
BARBOURS CUT: In 1928 Captain Clyde A. Barbour purchased 1,435 acres in Morgan’s Point with hopes of building a marine terminal to compete with the Port of Houston. He succeeded in dredging a canal he called Barbour’s Cut. Unfortunately his timing was poor and the Great Depression ended his dream. Beginning in 1985 a terminal was built here that is one of the largest, most modern container shipping facilities along the Gulf of Mexico. Its official name is the Fentress Bracewell Barbours Cut Container Terminal. Bracewell served as chairman of the Port Commission for 15 years. 25
BAREK: This family was among the first settlers in Guy. (See Old Guy.) 26
BARKDULL: Earl – See sidebar Houston Streets Named for Men Killed During World War I, page 22.
BARKER: Barker, as in Barker-Cypress, derives its name from the town of Barker in western Harris County. In 1895 the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad sent Ed Barker here to lay tracks for the extension of the railroad. 27
BARNES: S. L. – See sidebar Houston Streets Named for Men Killed During World War I, page 22.
BARNETT: Thomas & Virginia – These early pioneers settled in what would become Richmond/Rosenberg. He was alcalde (mayor) of Austin (1827-9), ayuntamento (important civic official) of San Felipe (1833) and a signatory of the Texas Declaration of Independence (1836). 28
BARNSTON: Henry – Born in Dover, England in 1868, Barnston received his rabbinical diploma in London and his Ph.D. at Heidelberg. He came to America in 1900 after answering an advertisement from a Reform Congregation, Beth Israel, in Houston that was seeking a rabbi. He accepted the pulpit upon arrival and presided over the congregation until his death in 1949. Rabbi Barnston was very active in civic affairs and was a founding member of the Museum of Fine Arts and the Houston Symphony. 29
BARRETT STATION: The small town of Barrett is located off U. S. 90 in eastern Harris County. This black community sprang up during Reconstruction. Founded by a former slave named Harrison Barrett, by 1889 he had become the largest freed slave landowner in the county. This thriving community had many homes, a sawmill, gristmill and coffee mill. Barrett donated land for the Shiloh Baptist Church and School. 30
BARRETT: C. E. – In 1904 this Humble, Texas resident discovered oil at Moonshine Hill. A year later he hit the mother lode with a well named No. 2 Beaty that flowed 8,500 barrels per day. The boom was on. In 1905 the population of Humble grew from 700 to 20,000 and the oilfield produced 15,594,932 barrels of “black gold.” The Humble Field became the greatest salt dome discovery in history eventually surpassing the legendary Spindletop Field near Beaumont. (See Moonshine Hill, Spindletop and Humble.) 31
BARROW: Benjamin – He was an early settler in the Spring Cypress area. 32
BARTLETT: H. B. – See sidebar Houston Streets Named for Men Killed During World War I, page 22. 33
BARTLETT: See sidebar Southampton’s English Streets, page 255.
» BARZIZA: Decimus et Ultimus – Tombstone in Glenwood Cemetery
BARZIZA: Decimus et Ultimus – This Houstonian has the most unusual name of any person for whom a city street is named. “Decimus et Ultimus” means tenth and last in Latin. This gentleman was the tenth and last child of Phillip Ignatius and Cecelia Amanda Barziza. He was a Captain in Hood’s Texas Brigade and saw action at Gettysburg. Barziza was wounded in the attack on Little Round Top on July 2, 1863 and was taken prisoner. After a year in a Union prisoner of war camp he escaped to Canada. He settled in Houston and opened a law practice. Barziza was an author (The Adventures of a Prisoner of War and Life and Scenes in Federal Prisons), politician (representative to the Texas Legislature) and businessman (founded the state’s first trust company, Houston Land & Trust). 34
BASS PRO: This short drive leads to the Bass Pro Shop Outdoor World in the Katy Mills Mall. This gigantic (138,000 square foot or 3.2 acre) sporting goods store offers fishing, hunting, camping, boating, golf and outdoor gear. It is a mind boggling display of equipment and kitschy woodsy ambience. 35
BASS: Frederick S – This veteran of the War Between the States commanded Company E, 1st Texas Infantry, Hood’s Texas Brigade for a time during the Battle of the Wilderness (May 4-8, 1864). Despite being outnumbered 120,000 to 64,000 the Confederates forced General Ulysses S. Grant to withdraw after suffering 17,666 casualties. 36
BASSETT: Clement Newton, Jr. – Born in Richmond, Virginia in 1842, he moved to Fort Bend County and became a very successful merchant, rancher and farmer. Bassett was county sheriff during the Jaybird-Woodpecker War (1888-90), a political feud between two factions vying for control of the county. He later served a four year term as county tax collector. A religious man, Bassett was a founder of the first Baptist church in Richmond. 37
BASTOGNE: This small Belgian town was a critical defensive point for the Allies during the Battle of the Bulge in WW II. (See Ardennes.) 38
BASTROP: Baron Felipe Enrique Neri de – While not much of this European adventurers’ provenance is known, it does appear he settled in San Antonio by 1806 where he operated a freight company. He achieved great influence and became an alcalde (mayor) in Bexar. History remembers the Baron as the man whose authority allowed Moses Austin to acquire the land grant for Anglo-Americans to move into Texas and who assisted Stephen F. Austin in establishing the Republic of Texas. 39
BATAAN: This street is named for a peninsula in the Philippines. It was defended against the Japanese by U.S. troops under the command of General Jonathan Wainwright until they were forced to surrender on April 9, 1942. The 70-mile forced march to a POW camp became known as the “Bataan Death March” as more than 100,000 American prisoners, out of a force of 600,000, died from torture or starvation. 40
BATES: William B. – Bates was a trustee of the M.D. Anderson Foundation and a principal force in the founding of the Texas Medical Center. Known by the honorary title of Colonel Bates, conferred on him by Texas Governor Dan Moody, this bright young attorney became an early partner in the law firm of Fulbright, Crooker & Freeman. His name was soon added to the moniker. 41
BATTERSON: Isaac – An early resident of Harris County, Batterson lived on Buffalo Bayou near the town of Clinton. Today he is thought of as the first resident of Galena Park. The Texas army crossed his land to reach the battleground at San Jacinto. In 1837 he was elected Justice of the Peace. During his term he worked on the committee to build the first Harris County courthouse (at a cost of $3,800) as well as the city’s first jail ($4,750). (See Clinton and Galena.) 42
BATTLE: Mills M. – This early settler received a land grant in 1827-8 where Fort Bend County is today. Mills was one of Stephen F. Austin’s Old 300. He was elected clerk of the county in 1858. 43
BATTLEGROUND: Today this road leads to San Jacinto State Park, the home of the San Jacinto Monument and the berth of the Battleship Texas. However at 3:30 PM on Thursday, April 21, 1836 the scene was very different from the tranquil green space you see today. It was here on that fateful afternoon that in an 18-minute battle, General Sam Houston’s army defeated General Santa Anna and Texas won her independence. 44
» BATTLEGROUND: Santa Anna surrendered under this mossy oak tree after his defeat at the Battle of San Jacinto
BAUER: Siegesmund – This road is named for Bauer, a German immigrant from Wiesenbad, who arrived in Houston’s Spring Branch area in 1847. Like many of his neighbors he was a farmer. Bauer also was a founder of St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church; a congregation that still exists today. He died in a yellow fever epidemic in 1854. 45
BAUER: The Bauers were among the many Germans who immigrated to Texas in the 1800s and settled on land northwest of Houston. Early arrivals, including Heinrich Bauer (1826-1895) and Anna Bauer (1826-1896), are buried in the historic Roberts Cemetery. (See Roberts Cemetery.) 46
BAY OAKS: (See Shoreacres.)
BAY: (See Appaloosa.)
BAYBROOK MALL & BAYBROOK SQUARE: These two gigantic shopping malls face each other on opposite’s sides of I-45 between Webster and Friendswood. 47
BAYER: Both this street and the nearby park are named for Arthur Bayer, a resident of the Spring area. 48
BAYLAND: This beautiful tree-lined avenue was named for Bayland Orphans Home that was located in this Woodland Heights neighborhood from 1887 until it burned down in 1914. The orphanage was originally on Galveston Bay, thus the genesis of the name. 49
BAYLOR: Founded in Independence, Texas in 1845 as a Baptist university, the campus was moved to Waco in 1886. Its famous medical school was opened in 1900 in Dallas and moved to Houston in 1943. The University was named for District Judge R. E. B. Baylor, one of the founders. 50
BAYPORT: This boulevard leads to one of the largest petrochemical complexes (the Bayport Industrial Complex) in our region. It is the site of the world’s largest styrene plant. Produced from a combination of benzene and ethylene, styrene is used in the manufacture of a wide variety of polystyrene products. 51
BAYRIDGE: In 1893 twelve prominent Houston families purchased 40 acres of land in the town of Morgan’s Point to develop a summer resort community. They called themselves the Bay Ridge Park Association. Long narrow lots were platted and allotted to the families by drawing numbers. Texas Governor Ross Sterling built the most palatial home. It was modeled after the White House. It still exists and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 52
BAYS CHAPEL: The Thomas Bay family arrived from Tennessee with a group of settlers in this part of Montgomery in the 1851. They constructed a log building called Bays Chapel Church and School. The church had eight members including the Bay, Harrison and Williamson families. 53
Over the years, since the first map of our city was drawn up in 1836, Houston has seen literally hundreds of streets change names. There are many reasons for this including laws that prevent more than one street with the same name (this makes postal deliveries in the same town possible), citizens requesting changes, streets renamed to honor famous or heroic persons, major streets being extended and connecting with lesser thoroughfares, etc. If the reader wants a more complete list of current and former street names there is a fairly comprehensive list I have compiled in the Texas Room of the Houston Public Library at 500 McKinney downtown. For the purposes of this book I have elected to only show the most important street name changes that have occurred over the last 174 years. 5
CURRENT NAME |
ORIGINAL NAME |
Austin |
Homer |
Bagby |
Calhoun |
Bastrop |
Broadway |
Bissonnet |
County Poor Farm Road |
Canal |
German |
Caroline |
Carolina |
Cavalcade |
Newton |
Cullen |
St. Bernard |
Dowling |
East Broadway |
Dunlavy |
High |
Elysian |
Panola |
Fairview |
Minnesota |
Hardy |
Tyler |
Hutchins |
West Broadway |
LaBranch |
Milton |
Lawndale |
Cut Off Road |
Lockwood |
Orriene |
Lyons |
Odin |
McGowen |
Murry |
Montrose |
Lincoln |
North Durham |
Nashua |
North Main |
Montgomery |
North Shepherd |
Brunner |
Riesner |
Young |
St. Joseph’s Parkway |
Calhoun |
Shepherd |
Shepherd’s Dam |
South McGregor |
Savannah |
Tulane |
Portland |
Waugh |
Euclid |
Welch |
Nebraska |
West Dallas |
San Felipe |
Westheimer |
Hathaway |
University |
Amerman |
BAYTOWN: Named for its location fronting on Burnet, Scott, Mitchell, Black Duck, Tabbs and Galveston Bays, this industrial city east of Houston comes to its name legitimately. Principally an industrial town, Baytown is home to numerous refineries and chemical plants. The area was first settled by Nathaniel Lynch in about 1822. (See Lynchburg.) 54
BEACH: Isaac Conroe established this community when he opened a saw mill here in the late 1800s. It was located along the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad line. For unknown reasons he named it Beach. When the timber boom played out the town disappeared. (See Conroe-Hufsmith.) 55
BEAR CREEK: This creek rises near Wolf Hill in northwest Harris County and flows for 18 miles to its mouth on Buffalo Bayou near Addicks Reservoir. (See Addicks Levee.) 56
BEAR-RAM: Alief ISD has two high schools, Elsik and Hastings, that are located next to each other on this road. Hastings mascot is the bear. Elsik students are known as the rams. At the end of each football season these sister schools play a friendly rivalry game in the shared Crump Stadium. 57
BEASLEY-DAMON: This road connects these two Fort Bend County towns. Beasley was laid out along the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway by Cecil A. Beasley, a Richmond banker, in the mid-1890s. He originally called it Dyer for Miss Isabel Dyer whom he later married. However, when it came time to establish a post office it was discovered that another Texas town was already called Dyer so he changed the name. Damon was founded in 1831 by Samuel Damon, an early Texas pioneer. He established his farm on a large geological mound called a salt dome that rises dramatically above the surrounding flat coastal plains. By 1918 sulfur was discovered under the dome and it was also used to quarry limestone. As a result the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway laid a 21 mile spur to Damon to ship these products to Richmond. 58
» SAMUEL DAMON: Tombstone and historic marker in Damon Cemetery
BEASLEY-TAVENER: This Fort Bend County town was established along the Texas & New Orleans Railroad line in 1890. It is named for an area pioneer, Charley Tavener. (See Beasley-Damon.) 59
BEAU GESTE: From the French meaning “magnanimous gesture,” this is Percival Christopher Wren’s novel about the three Geste brothers. Combining mystery, loyalty, a missing blue sapphire, the French Foreign Legion, an abusive sergeant and a battle against marauding tribesmen, the author created a marvelous story and a very enjoyable read. 60
BEAUCHAMP: Thomas D. – An early settler in Harris County, he owned 50 acres north of town that possessed artesian springs. He would haul water to Houstonians who hated the taste of Buffalo Bayou water. The springs became known as Beauchamp’s Springs and a Confederate camp was established near them during the War Between the States. In April 1838 a new jail and courthouse were completed in downtown Houston and officials were determined that citizens show respect for these institutions. District Judge A. B. Shelby assessed fines to violators of the court’s dignity including one of $500 to Beauchamp for contempt. (See Artesian.) 61
BEAUJOLAIS: This hilly Rhone region of France is famous for its fresh, light-bodied red wine. 62
BEAUMONT: This highway leads to the county seat of Jefferson County. Beaumont was named either for James Beaumont, Chief Justice of Calhoun County, or for a hill southeast of town called Beau Mont in French, meaning beautiful mountain. The area was first settled in 1825 with the town being laid out in 1837. In 1901 one of the world’s greatest oilfields was discovered in nearby Spindletop. (See Spindletop.) 63
BEAUREGARD: Pierre Gustave Toutant – This Louisiana native graduated from West Point in 1838. He served in the Mexican War where he was twice wounded. During the War Between the States General Beauregard fought at Manassas, Shiloh, Corinth, Charleston and Petersburg. Despite his diminutive size, his soldiers called him “Napoleon in Gray” and “the Great Creole.” Following the War he was named president of the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad, was adjutant general of Louisiana, manager of the Louisiana lottery and commissioner of public works for the City of New Orleans. 64
BECKENDORF: This German family was a landholder around Bear Creek in west Houston. In 1945 the Beckendorfs and 40 other families were forced to move due to the construction of the Barker Reservoir, a flood control project in the watershed of Buffalo Bayou. They resettled near Tomball where family members are buried in the Beckendorf Cemetery. 65
BECKER LINE: Boris Becker was the youngest tennis player, at only 17, to capture the men’s title at Wimbledon. This young German won Wimbledon three times (1985, 1986, 1989), the Australian Open twice (1991, 1996) and the U. S. Open once (1989). 66
BEDFORD FORREST: Nathan – He is arguably the best general Robert E. Lee had during the War Between the States. Despite a lack of any formal education, this self-educated man is considered by experts to have been a military genius. Forrest was a brilliant cavalry tactician. He saw action at Chickamauga, Fort Pillow, Blue Cross Roads, Nashville and Selma. His most remarkable feat was the capture of an entire Union cavalry brigade at Rome, Georgia. Forrest was named president of the Selma, Marion & Memphis Railroad following the War. 67
BEEBE: Howard Ward – This gentleman was instrumental in the incorporation of Bunker Hill Village in the Memorial area. Beebe was named the village city’s historian in 1991 due to his encyclopedic knowledge of the area. He was the founder and president of the Houston-based investment firm of Beebe & Lavalle. 68
BEECHCRAFT: In 1932 Walter H. and Olive Ann Beech founded the Beechcraft Aircraft Corporation. Since producing the first model called the 17, Beechcraft has introduced the Twin Beech, trainers for fighter pilots during World War II, the Baron and the King Air. In 1980 the Company was acquired by the Raytheon Corporation. 69
BEINHORN: William E. – This Memorial area street was named for a German immigrant who arrived in Houston in 1853 and acquired substantial land holdings in the area. 70
BELKNAP COURT: Charles – Most likely this Sugar Land street recalls this early Texas pioneer and one of Stephen F. Austin’s Old 300 colonists. He was awarded a land grant in Fort Bend County in 1827. The 1826 census lists Belknap as a farmer and cattle rancher. After his death in 1829 his acreage was sold at public auction. 71
BELKNAP: Sugar Land Industries owned Belknap Real Estate Development Company that was used to oversee their real property activities. Belknap developed Imperial Estates, Brookside, Belknap, Alkire Lake, Horseshoe Lake and Venetian Estates in the Sugar Land area. 72
BELL OAKS: This Bellville street recalls the town’s founder Thomas Bell. He was one of Stephen F. Austin’s Old 300. Bell arrived in Texas in 1822 and settled in this area in 1838. 73
BELL: Peter H. – Bell came to Texas to fight for independence. He saw action at San Jacinto. He joined the Texas Rangers in 1840 and fought with them in the Mexican War of 1845. Elected Governor, he served two terms (1849 and 1851). Bell resigned to fill the unexpired term of a U.S. Congressman. He fought in and survived the War Between the States and died at the ripe old age of 86. 74
BELLAIRE: In 1908 a Burlington Railroad executive named William W. Baldwin purchased 9,449 acres southwest of Houston and named it Westmoreland Farms. He called the town at its center Bellaire. The name was thought to come from a marketing brochure that stated “The town is Bellaire (fine air), for Westmoreland Farms is fanned day and night by the cooling breezes of the Gulf of Mexico.” A 1910 advertisement describes the Boulevard as “a fine double road of white shell” and “Houston’s most popular driveway.” However, it is more likely Baldwin named it for Bellaire, OH, a town served by his Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. (See Westmoreland.) 75, 76
BELLE: See sidebar Gone With the Wind Too Far, page 303.
BELLINGRATH: See sidebar the Antebellum Streets of River Plantation, page 122.
BELLMEADE: It is possible that this street is a misspelling of the name of the famous Belle Meade Country Club in Nashville, Tennessee, since so many other streets in River Oaks are named for exclusive golf clubs. Donald Ross designed the beautiful old moss covered anti-bellum style club’s golf course in 1901. 77
BELLOWS: George F. and Ann – On June 9, 2000 he was honored with a street in the Texas Medical Center. He joined the board of Texas Children’s Hospital in 1967 and the TMC board in 1976. A tireless volunteer and benefactor, Bellows and his wife Ann presided over much of the growth of both of these organizations for more than a quarter of a century. 78
BELL’S LANDING: Josiah Hughes Bell came to Texas with Stephen F. Austin in 1821. He was Austin’s second in command in the colony. He settled in what is today Brazoria County in 1824. Bell was a planter and built a plantation on the banks of the Brazos River. By 1829 Bell established a community nearby. First it was named Marion, then Bell’s Landing, Columbia and finally East Columbia. This landing became a very important port and trade center for the young Republic of Texas. Today the entire town of East Columbia is on the National Register of Historic Places and well worth a visit. 79
» BELL’S LANDING: Historical marker in East Columbia
BELMONT: Located in Belmont, New York, this thoroughbred racetrack is the home of the final race constituting the Triple Crown. The first leg is the Kentucky Derby, followed by the Preakness. Belmont opened in 1905. Five years later 150,000 people came to the track to see the Wright Brothers put on an international aerial tournament. 80
BELMONT: See sidebar Tennis or Golf, Anyone?, page 348.
BEN HUR: Lew Wallace wrote this biblical novel in 1880. It tells the story of Judah Ben Hur who is wrongly accused of a crime, enslaved by his Roman masters and achieves redemption in one of the most famous chariot races of all time. It was made into a movie in 1926 and again in 1959. 81
BEN TAUB: He was a financier, philanthropist and World War I hero. Taub was instrumental in creating the University of Houston, contributing 35 acres of land in 1936 for its main campus. Concerned for the health of the poor, he was chairman of the original Jefferson Davis Hospital and was a driving force in the construction of the facility on Allen Parkway (demolished 1999). Taub was responsible for saving DePelchin Faith Home (now DePelchin Children’s Center) and amassing funds for construction of its campus on Sandman. Ben Taub General Hospital is named in his honor. 82
BENDER: Members of this family were early landowners in the Humble, Texas area. Bender Street as well as Bender Square remembers these pioneers. Charles Bender owned a sawmill near Spring, Texas. He was known as the “Lumber Baron of Humble.” 83
According to the City’s Planning & Development Department there are very few rules about naming streets. Basically as long as there is not another street with the name proposed on a developers plat or on a street that is going to have a name change, then a street can be called whatever the namer chooses. Department employees cannot ask the developer why he chose the street names he plans to use. As a result we can get some unusual monikers for our highways and byways. Over the years the Houston real estate development community has exhibited a great deal of humor when it came to christening our streets. From studying the numerous maps at Planning & Development as well as reading the index of the Key Map of Houston. We have chosen some streets just for their funny names. They are: Animal Cracker, Attaway, Betty Boop, Bittersweet, Boorstown, Bourgeois, Broken Glass, Carpet Bagger, Catbird, Chew, Chipshot, Clay Pigeon, Concrete, Crackerneck, Cry Baby, Easy, Ding-an-Sich, Far Fetch, Flintstone, Four Sixes, Generic, Glassblower, Go Man Go, Good Intention, Hades Ferry, Hardscrabble, Hazard, Hog Heaven, Hound Dog, Ice Palace, Igloo, Jaberwalky, Jury Rig, Kangaroo Court, King’s Ransom, Kissing Camel, Lazy, Mellow Brew, Memory Lane, Mexican John, Moe’s Place, Monkeyfist, Neon, North by Northwest, Okay, Old Token, Parcel Three, Proswimmer, Psuedo, Quark, Ram’s Bottom, Red-an-Gold, Restaurant Row, Rustler’s Way, Salty Dog, Sissy, Smokey the Bear, Snake Canyon, Sotired, Sweet Surrender, Tater Tot, Teddy Bear, Temperance, The Alley, Thirsty Fish, Trailer Park, Ubetcha, Wages, Wasp, West by Northwest, Whistling Dixie, Wicked Wicket, Wildoats, X Can and Yellow Jacket. 6
BENFER: In 1845 a group of German immigrants settled along the banks of Cypress Creek near where Klein is located today. They were farmers and raised cotton, potatoes and corn among other crops. They sold their produce in Houston, a two-day trip by wagon in those days. The Benfer family was one of these pioneer settlers. Henry Benfer was a founding member of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Klein. A number of family members are buried in the church cemetery. 84
BERING: August and Conrad – These two brothers emigrated from Kassel, Germany in 1842. They were on their way from Galveston to Fredericksburg when their oxen died in the Houston area. Cabinetmakers by trade, they set up shop here and went to work. Their business eventually expanded into lumber and hardware. That company still operates today under the ownership of the Bering family. The brothers began acquiring acreage west of the city and eventually owned about 2,000 acres of what is now Tanglewood and Briargrove. 85
BERNARDO DE GALVEZ: This Spaniard was born in 1746. He chose a career in the military and was honored for his distinguished service to the royal crown. Galvez visited the New World for the first time in the 1760s. His assignment was to defeat raiding Apaches that were attacking Spanish outposts. By 1777 he was appointed Governor of Louisiana. He strongly supported the Americans during the Revolutionary War. He dispatched Jose de Evia, a surveyor and map maker, to chart the Texas coast. Evia named the largest bay Galvez in honor of his patron. However, Galvez died before he ever saw that body of water. Later the name was changed to Galveston. 86
BERRY: James – This Kentucky gentleman came to Texas to fight for independence in 1836. He was a lieutenant at the Battle of San Jacinto. In 1840 Berry acquired some acreage in northern Harris County where this road is located. He entered politics and held the office of justice of the peace and treasurer of the county from 1845 until 1858. Berry Elementary School is also named for him. 46
BERTNER: Dr. E. William – The Texas Medical Center has honored a number of important people associated with this complex with street names. This New York City physician was convinced to come to Houston by the wealthy tycoon Jesse H. Jones. His work at Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore resulted in him becoming one of the nation’s experts on cancer. So his association with the M.D. Anderson Hospital was only natural. In 1946 he was named the first president of the TMC. 87
BERZIN: (See Bhandara.)
BETHEA: Cecil G. – See sidebar Houston Streets Named for Men Killed During World War I, page 22. 88
» BETTY BOOP: A cartoon character street sign
BETHJE: Bertha – She was the wife of Anton Brunner who developed the Brunner Addition just east of Memorial Park. North Shepherd was once named Brunner. He was a German immigrant who was orphaned almost as soon as he arrived in Houston with his parents. Brunner went on to make his fortune in the shoe business and invested his profits in real estate. 89
BETTY BOOP: She is a cartoon character introduced in 1931. Betty was a strip (no pun intended) for adults. In two of her early cartoons, “You’re Driving Me Crazy” and “Silly Scandals” her blouse kept falling down reveling her buxom chest in a lacy French bra. In 1933 the Hays Code of censorship for cartoons went into effect and Betty was morphed into a less vampish character. 90
BEUTEL: Louis – He was a large landowner in the Spring Valley area. Beutel married the daughter of pioneer settler Wilhelm Rummel. His property was part of the Osborne Survey that consisted of tracts of land given by Sam Houston to soldiers who served in the Army of the Republic of Texas. (See Rummel.) 91
BEVERLY: (See Marjorie, Bintliff and Sharpstown.)
BEXAR: The presidio or mission fortress called San Antonio de Bexar and the town of San Fernando de Bexar were the original names for the area where San Antonio is today. 92
BFI WHISPERING PINES LANDFILL ROAD: Named by the waste management company, Browning-Ferris Industries, this name is subtle corporate humor to lessen the impact of its ultimate destination - a huge garbage dump! 93
BHANDARA: Fred – This real estate developer named most of the streets in Heritage Park West near Katy in 1994. Zubin and Berzin are his sons. Jessica and Zareen are his daughters. Bradley Luedecke is his godson and son of his business partner. Kenny Luedecke is also the son of his partner. Kyla Flueckiger is the daughter of another business associate. 94
BIG LEAGUE DREAMS: This parkway leads to a sports complex of the same name in League City. The baseball parks here are scaled down versions of major league fields such as Fenway Park (Boston), Polo Grounds (New York) and Wrigley Field (Chicago). 95
BIGELOW: Charles – He served as Houston’s fourth mayor in 1840-41. In that era railroad companies were the high technology businesses. Houston was awarded the charter for one of four rail lines to be built in the Republic of Texas. The Houston & Brazos Railroad Company was authorized to lay track from the city to the river. To celebrate this great event citizens, politicians, educators and preachers turned out. They walked the first nine miles of the proposed line where Mayor Bigelow broke ground for the construction. 96
BINGLE: Charles Henry – He was an early resident of the Spring Valley area. 97
BINTLIFF: David C. – Real estate developer Frank Sharp named this street for his friend David Bintliff. He was a well-known oilman, rancher and investor in the Houston area. (See Sharpstown.) 98
BINZ: Jacob – A Chicago native, Binz built Houston’s first “skyscraper” in 1895. A Renaissance-and Romanesque-style structure at 513-19 Main Street, it cost $60,000. The Binz Building was the first in Houston to be built out of concrete, stone and steel. While the structure was six stories high plus a basement, architects said the foundation and superstructure could have supported a 20-story building. When it was opened, people came from miles around to ride its elevators to the top floor and admire the view of the surrounding countryside. The building was demolished in 1950. 99
» BINZ: The Binz Building on Main Street
BIRDIE: See sidebar A Neighborhood for Linksters, page 318.
BIRDSALL: The Hogg family and their friends, Judge and Mrs. Frederick C. Proctor, hired Birdsall P. Briscoe and John F. Staub as associate architects to design their respective homes, Bayou Bend and Dogwood, which were next door to one another and shared a common driveway onto Lazy Lane. The architects divided the work between themselves: Staub designing Bayou Bend and Briscoe designing Dogwood. A plaque on the wall facing the Diana Garden at Bayou Bend memorializes this collaboration. 100
BISSONNET: George Herman – This Houston native was a pilot in the U. S. Army Air Corps (predecessor to the U. S. Air Force) during World War I who, records indicate, was killed in a plane crash while training in Florida. The street has had three other names: County Poor Farm Road because it led to the Harris County Poor Farm, Richmond Road as it was the principal artery to the Fort Bend County seat of Richmond and 11th Street (on the early planning map of Southampton Place). 101
BLACK GOLD: Located among a complex of petroleum services companies this name is slang for “oil.” 102
BLACKBEARD: See sidebar Pirates of the Caribbean, page 280.
BLACKSHEAR: William Newton and Hanna Elizabeth – Originally from Trinity County, the Blackshears arrived in the Willow Creek area in 1862 where they operated a general store. He became the first postmaster of Klein, Texas. (See Klein.) 103
BLAHA: This short lane recalls another family of European immigrants who settled west of Houston in the 1800s. Some of the Blahas are buried in the Roberts Cemetery that is located just northeast of this street. (See Roberts Cemetery.) 104
BLAIR: John – This Tennessee native came to Texas to fight for independence under the command of Colonel James Bowie. He died at the fall of the Alamo in 1836 at the age of 33. 105
BLANDFORD: See sidebar All Things English, page 175.
BLIMP BASE: The Hitchcock Naval Air Station was a World War II base for lighter-than-air craft better known as blimps. In 1942 the U. S. Navy acquired 3,000 acres of land northwest of Galveston and erected a $10 million hanger that would hold six giant blimps. It was 1,000 feet long, 300 feet wide and over 200 feet in height. The base was to protect shipping along the Texas coast from Nazi submarine attacks. Following the war the facility was used for storage of equipment and later rice. When the Navy declared the property surplus in 1950, Houston oilman John Mecom bought it. He planned to develop it as a resort called Flamingo Isle. That never happened. The hanger, clearly visible to traffic on the Gulf Freeway, was seriously damaged in Hurricane Carla in 1961 and was torn down the following year. (See Mecom.)106
BLODGETT: According to John Raia, senior planner in the City’s Planning & Development Division and a veteran of more than half a century of working with developers naming streets, he believes this street recalls the surname of Henry MacGregor’s mother-in-law. (See MacGregor.) 107
BLOUNT: Stephen William – He signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, fought in the Texas Revolution in Captain William D. Ratcliff’s Company, was the county clerk of San Augustine County as well as its postmaster and served as fiscal agent for the Confederate States of America. 108
» FLAMINGO ISLE: A Galveston county resort that was never built
BLUE RIDGE: Located near Missouri City this is the name of a geological formation where oil and gas were discovered in 1919 and a salt mine soon after. The Texas Coaster reported “Richmond was an excited town on Monday morning when news spread that a gusher had come in on the Blue Ridge Oilfield.” The discovery allowed nearby Missouri City to become the first town in Fort Bend County to use natural gas. 109
» BLUEWATER HIGHWAY: Destruction caused by hurricane ike in 2008
BLUE: See sidebar Neighborhoods with Interesting Stories, page 104.
BLUEWATER HIGHWAY: Also known as County Road 257, this 16 mile stretch of road runs along the Texas coast from Surfside to San Luis Pass at Galveston Island. Much of the way drivers have an unimpeded view of the blue waters of the Gulf. The highway lost two miles of surface and experienced serious damage to another six miles when Hurricane Ike made landfall in 2008. Fortunately, it has been repaired so the almost 400,000 users can once again enjoy this beautiful drive. (See photograph on page 44.) 110
BOBCAT: (See Cougar.)
BOBCAT: High schools in our area love to name streets near their athletic facilities for the team mascot. In this case it is Hempstead High who are the Bobcats. 111
BOBVILLE: This road remembers another of the many ghost towns of Montgomery County. Bobville was on the Central & Montgomery Railway and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad lines. An employee of the A, T & SF named the depot in 1878 and a town was established in 1887. By 1990 Bobville had disappeared off highway maps. 112
BOGIE: The denizens of this west Houston development have a passion for golf and flying. They own a golf course and airstrip. Bogie is a links score that is one over par for the hole. You would think the developer would have called it birdie (one under par) or eagle (two better than par.) 113
BOGS: Fritz William – In 1872 he was sent here by his family in Germany to avoid conscription in the army. At that time there were many wars raging in Europe. He bought 500 acres near Huffsmith on Spring Creek, an area that became the “swimming hole of Tomball” for the next 40 years. He operated a saw mill and a cotton gin on his land. It was not unusual for German families to send a son to America in the late 1800s. Mike Stude told me his great-grandfather (who developed Studewood) immigrated to the Houston area after his 11 brothers were killed fighting in European wars. 114
BOHEME: French for “Bohemian,” this tragic four act opera by Giacomo Puccini was first preformed in Turin, Italy in 1896. It is the story about the love lives and personal relationships of four young men and two young women that we would likely call “hippies” today. 115
BOLD RULER: After a disappointing fourth place finish in the 1957 Kentucky Derby, Bold Ruler went on to win the Preakness and was named Horse of the Year for his record of 11 wins in 16 starts. He sired the greatest thoroughbred of all modern times, Secretariat. (See Secretariat.) 116
BOLING: Located in Fort Bend County this community which was originally called Floyd’s Lane was established in 1900 when the New York, Texas & Mexican Railway was constructed through here. Robert E. Vineyard who surveyed the town renamed it Bolling for his daughter Mary Bolling Vineyard. However, the post office altered the spelling to Boling. In 1925 oil, gas and sulfur were discovered at the Boling Dome and the little village became a boomtown overnight. A subdivision established at that time named its streets for oil companies operating there including Sinclair, Gulf, Magnolia, Sun, Texas and Humble. 117
» BOLING MURAL: Artwork telling the history of Boling, Texas
BOLIVAR: Simon – Known as “The Liberator,” this South American hero was born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1783. His life was dedicated to the independence of Spanish colonies on that continent. Between 1810 and 1830 he succeeded in gaining freedom for the people of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Panama. In addition he founded the Republic of Bolivia that is named for this statesman. Closer to home Boliver Peninsula and Port Bolivar on the Texas Gulf Coast also recall this important man. (See Boyt.) 118
» BOLIVAR LIGHTHOUSE: historic 1872 Structure on Boliver peninsula
BOLSOVER: See Southampton’s English Streets, page 255.
BONAPARTE: Napoleon – One of the greatest military geniuses of all time, he is most remembered for the battle he lost, Waterloo, than the hundreds he won. He named himself Emperor of the French Empire in 1804. Bonaparte was forced to abdicate in 1814. He spent the rest of his life in exile on Elba and later St. Helena. 119
BONHAM: James Butler – This South Carolinian became one of the most revered of Texas heroes. Bonham came to Texas in 1835 to help fight in the Revolution. He arrived at the Alamo with Jim Bowie on January 19, 1836. He died at the Siege of the Alamo on March 19, 1836 while manning one of the mission’s cannons. The town of Bonham was named in his honor also. 120
BONNARD: Pierre – This French painter was born in Fontenay-aux-Roses. His father insisted he become a lawyer but after practicing for a short time he enrolled in art classes and decided to become an artist. He is known for his complex compositions and intense use of color. His friend, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, arranged for Bonnard to show his works at the Societe des Artistes Independants in 1891. 121
BOONE: Sylvester – This gentleman arrived in Alief, Texas in 1908. Boone along with A. J. Martin and S. A. Brasfield were responsible for establishing an independent school district here. In 1910 the first school opened. The Boone clan has lived in the area for almost a century. Boone Park and Boone Elementary School also are named in their honor. In June 2006 the Alief Old Timers Group hosted a reunion presided over by 104-year old Mora Boone who moved to Alief in 1921 to marry James L. Boone Sr. (See Alief-Clodine.) 122
» BOOT HILL: Lester Moore’s tombstone
» BOOTH SCHOOL: Ruins of 1912 Structure
BOOT HILL: The Wild West is still alive in this subdivision called Stagecoach Farms in Montgomery County. The original Boot Hill was the cemetery in Dodge City, Kansas where outlaws and gunfighters were buried with their boots on. The most famous Boot Hill is in Tombstone, Arizona. A grave marker there has one of the all-time great epitaphs: “Here lies Lester Moore, Four slugs from a 44, No Les, No More.” Other colorful street names in this neighborhood are Stagecoach, Cimarron, Westward Ho, Tomahawk and Broken Spoke. 123
BOOTH: This site was originally part of the league of land Stephen F. Austin granted to Henry Jones in the early 1830s. The town was founded by Freeman Irby Booth in the 1890s. Booth was a wealthy resident, who operated a general store, lumber yard, cotton gin, hotel, bank and a cane syrup mill here. The syrup, Open Kettle Pure Ribbon Cane brand, won awards for its excellent taste. He had the first telephone line in the county strung from his home in Richmond to the store in Booth. Booth owned Fort Bend County’s first automobile (1907). In 1912 he erected Booth Public School. Its architecture is based on the famous San Jose Mission in San Antonio. (See photograph on page 47.) (See Jones, Henry.) 124
BOOTH: W. R. – He lead a group of settlers to this Brazoria County area in 1857. They were farmers and ranchers who settled along the banks of Chocolate Bayou. (See Chocolate Bayou and Manvel.) 125
BORA BORA: See sidebar Bali Hai May Call You, page 322.
BORDEN: Paschal Paolo – He was born in New York in 1806 and came to Texas in 1839 to fight for independence from Mexico. Borden settled in the area where Stafford is today. He saw action during the Siege of Bexar and the Battle of San Jacinto. 43
BORDERS: Edgar – This is an example of sometimes it’s better not to have a street named after you. In 1927 a sawmill in Humble closed down. This put a number of people, many of whom were black, out of work. Borders opened a new mill, hired many of the workers and gave them some shacks to live in. He was forced to close his operation in 1941 and Borders sold or rented the land near the mill to his ex-employees. Borders died in 1963. By the time Houston annexed what became known as Bordersville in 1965 it was one of the most destitute neighborhoods in the city. 126
BORDLEY: Developer William Farrington’s wife Bernice, affectionately known as “Birdie,” named this street for a branch of her family, according to her daughter. 127
BORG BREAKPOINT: Swedish born Bjorn Borg accomplished one of the greatest feats in modern tennis history. He won five consecutive men’s singles championships at the All-England matches at Wimbledon between 1976 and 1980. On his way to victory in 1976 he did not lose a set. Borg also won the French Open championship six times between 1974 and 1981. Breakpoint is a tennis term indicating the server has lost his advantage and is in danger of losing his service game. 128
BORGESTEDT CEMETERY: The family settled in the area along Cypress Creek. Many are buried in this graveyard off Huffmeister Road. Johann Peter Borgestedt was born in 1826 and died in 1891. Descendents interred here include Peter (born 1867), Benjamin, Bernice, Anna and Alma. The cemetery is still in use with the latest burial I noted dated 2005. 102
BOUDREAUX: In the late 1830s French settlers began arriving in the Willow Creek area south of what is today Tomball, Texas. Louisiana Cajuns including the Boudreaux family joined them. Prior to construction of the Catholic Church, services were held in the Boudreaux home. 129
BOUNDARY: Although the story behind Boundary may be more urban legend than fact, several Houston historians and street naming experts agree that it could be true. It seems an early city map showed this street as the last one to the north when the map was drawn, thus marking the city limit or boundary. 130
BOURGEOIS: Since this French word means typically middle class we question why a developer would christen a street with this name. However, in the neighborhood where it is located it represents truth in advertising. 131
BOWLING GREEN: Bowling Green State University in the Ohio town of the same name was founded in 1914, became a college in 1929 and was chartered as a university in 1935. 132
BOY: See sidebar Neighborhoods with Interesting Stories, page 104.
BOYCE: Albert Gallatin – A veteran of the War Between the States, he was wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863. He was a rancher and became the general manager of the famous XIT Ranch. A strict Methodist, he rode moral herd over the ranch hands, forbidding them to wear six-guns, to drink alcohol or gamble. Later in life he founded Midway Bank and Trust of Dalhart where he was president until he was shot to death. It seems Boyce’s son Al ran off with the wife of John B. Sneed. Sneed didn’t take this lightly, so he killed the senior Boyce. Tried and acquitted, Sneed then hunted Al Boyce Jr. down and murdered him in Amarillo. 133
BOYS COUNTRY: In the early 1960s T. A. “Tom” Robinson donated 10 acres of land near Hockley to establish this unique home for at risk boys. Later Girls Country was added. Today the campus is nearly 200 acres with over 20 buildings. The facility has been home to more than 1,200 children from the greater Houston area. 134
BOYT: E. W. – This gentleman purchased the historic Bolivar Lighthouse on the west end of the Bolivar Peninsula in 1947 when the U. S. Government declared the property surplus. It was built in 1872 out of brick, sheathed in cast-iron plates that were riveted together. Standing 117 feet high, it has survived every hurricane to strike the Texas coast over the last 138 years and served as a place of refuge in most of those storms. The lighthouse was retired in 1933 when it was replaced by the South Jetty Light. (See Bolivar.) 135
BRADFORD: This family was one of the two major landowners in Kemah, Texas in the late 1890s. Early on, the city was called Shell Siding because the Southern Pacific Railroad established a station there to haul oyster shells for construction materials. The Bradfords sold the shell to the railway for $0.75 per car. There was a shell reef in front of the Bradford home that extended hundreds of feet into Galveston Bay and was 20 to 30 feet thick in some locations. (See kemah and kipp.) 136
BRADLEY: (See Bhandara.)
BRADY: John Thomas – This Houston pioneer was a substantial landowner with holdings between Houston and Harrisburg. In addition, he was an attorney, owned a brick-manufacturing kiln and was a founder of Bayland Orphans Home. An early advocate of making the Port of Houston accessible to ocean going traffic Brady attended the “Deep Water Meeting” in Galveston on January 6, 1890. Following the gathering, he led a contingent of businessmen up Buffalo Bayou, docking at Magnolia Park, land he had given to the city. Brady led a tour of his property, proudly pointing out the park’s 3,750 blooming magnolia trees. His colleagues must have been impressed for soon the Houston Belt & Magnolia Park Railway was incorporated. It ran from Brady’s land to Constitution Bend on the Channel. Partly through Brady’s efforts, President Benjamin Harrison signed the Rivers and Harbors Bill that led to substantial Port improvements. Brady Island on the Ship Channel is also named for this Houstonian. 137
BRAEBURN: Braeburn Country Club is one of the oldest in Houston, being founded in 1926. The 150 acre property has a 6,808 yard, par 72 golf course originally designed by John Bredemus. From 1936 until 1941 the golf professional here was the great Jimmy Demaret. During his tenure many of his Hollywood friends, including Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, could be seen playing a round. 138
BRAESWOOD: Braes is the Scottish word for hillside. 139
BRAHMAN: In the western themed neighborhood of Southfork near Pearland a number of streets recall cattle breeds including this one. They originated in India. Due to centuries of inadequate food supplies, insects, parasites, diseases and extremely tropical weather the breed developed an ability to survive under very adverse conditions. They were shipped to the U. S. in 1849 and soon arrived in Texas where conditions were somewhat similar to those of India. The beast is easily recognized by the large hump over the shoulders and neck. 15
BRAHMS: See sidebar It’s Music to My Ears, page 218.
BRANARD: George A – The Branard family lived on this Montrose area street. Mr. Branard was a plumber for the city of Houston. 140
BRANDT: (See koch.)
BRANDT: Gustavus – Located in the James Bute Addition, this street is named for a gentleman who was a manager of the James Bute Paint Company. 141
BRANIFF: T. E. – Bordering the south end of Hobby Airport this street is named for the founder of the now departed Braniff Airways.
BRASHEAR: Isaac or Sam H. – There are two excellent possibilities here. Isaac Brashear was a surveyor whose name appears on the 1890 map where this street is first mentioned. It was commonplace at that time for surveyors to name a street for themselves in an area they were mapping. Sam H. was what we would call today an environmentally in-touch mayor of Houston. He is best remembered for his strong position on acquiring land for green spaces. During his term (1898-1900) Sam Houston Park and Brashear Park (no longer on the city plats) were purchased. He could have been well enough known in 1890 to be honored with a street. 142
BRAUTIGAM: Christoph and Martha Peter – These German immigrants settled near Tomball in the 1850s. They were cattlemen and ranchers. Their descendants operated a very successful grocery store in the area named Brautigam & Froelich. 143
BRAXTON BRAGG: See sidebar the Antebellum Streets of River Plantation, page 122.
BRAXTON: Warner – This freed slave was one of the first black men to purchase land in Texas. William E. Kendle, the wealthiest man in Fort Bend County, knew the emancipated slaves would need somewhere to live. So, in 1867 he purchased thousands of acres of land where Kendleton (named for Kendle in 1884) is today and sold 100 acre plots to them for $0.50-$1.50 per acre. (See Powell Point School and Gin.) 144
BRAY: James – This gentleman was one of the area’s first Anglo settlers. He was a surveyor who worked for the Mexican government before Texas independence. In the 1820s he lived near the mouth of the bayou that now bears his name. (See Bray’s Bayou.) 145
BRAY’S BAYOU: Rising just north of Clodine in northern Fort Bend County, Bray’s Bayou flows 14 miles to its mouth on Buffalo Bayou. (See Bray.) 146
BRAZOS: Named for the longest river in Texas at 840 miles, its full name in Spanish is Brazos de Dios or Arms of God. Most historical accounts credit Francisco Vazquez de Coronado for naming the river when his men, almost dying of thirst in the Llano Estacado, were led to the headwaters by a band of Indians. 147
BRAZOSPORT: This is a 214-acre urbanized industrial and port development near the mouth of the Brazos River south of Freeport. In was built in 1947. The name was taken from 18th century nautical charts. Today it services the marine, sulfur and chemical industries that dominate the area. 148
BREMOND: Paul – A New Yorker who came to Texas in the 1840s, he had a successful general merchandise business. He wanted to build a railroad connecting Houston to North Texas. Bremond said he got the idea from a ghost. In 1856 he took over the Galveston & Red River Railroad and changed the name to the Houston & Central Texas Railway. After the Civil War he became interested in narrow gage railroads and started the Houston, East & West Texas Railway to build such a line from Houston to Laredo and Texarkana. He died in 1885 before the project got off the ground. 149
BRENTWOOD: Developers of River Oaks named many streets in that exclusive neighborhood for well-known country clubs around America or famous golf links in Scotland. It is likely this street was named after the New York club of the same name that was founded in 1900. 150
BRIAR HOLLOW: This lane was laid out paralleling the Texas & New Orleans railroad tracks and the Harris Count Flood Control Ditch in the 1940s. It went north from San Felipe, made a sharp left, a sharp right and ended in a cul-de-sac. On a Sunday the developer took his wife for a drive to see his latest project. A large gully or hollow ran through the property (still visible today). She mentioned the large number of briar bushes lining the estuary, inspiring the husband to name the street Briar Hollow. In 1971 the section paralleling the tracks was renamed East Briar Hollow and the east-west portion was renamed South Briar Hollow. Your author has lived on Briar Hollow Lane for many years. 151
BRIEFWAY: Developer B. F. Sturman called this street Briefway because it is only three blocks long. (See Southway.) 152
BRIG-O-DOON: This is another example of the lack of spelling ability on the part of our real estate developers. Famous American lyricist Alan Jay Lerner wrote the musical play Brigadoon in 1947. It became a film seven years later. It is the fanciful tale of a Scottish village that went to sleep in 1754 and only awakens for one day each century thereafter. 153
BRILEY: Felix H. - See sidebar Houston Streets Named for Men Killed During World War I, page 22.
BRILL: This family emigrated from Germany and settled in the Klein, Texas area. In the mid-1870s they, along with a number of other people, organized the Trinity Lutheran Church. Johannes Brill, his wife, Anna Schafer, and their daughter, Emilie arrived here in 1873. 154
BRINGHURST: George Hunter – This veteran of the Texas Revolution arrived in Houston in 1836. Captured at Goliad he was a prisoner of war until after the Battle of San Jacinto. Following the war he became a surveyor for Harris County and was eventually elected Wharf Master when the Port of Houston was still at the foot of Main Street. 155
BRITTMORE: Brit Moore was a dairy farmer in the area now called Denver Harbor. As urbanization closed in on his operation Moore sold it and moved west. He purchased a tract of land off Katy Road, cut a street through it and called it Brittmore. However he did not return to farming but chose real estate development, opening a “Red Flag” subdivision. (See sidebar “Red Flag” Subdivisions on page 81.) 156
BRITTON: Whitney – This New York native came to Texas in the early 1830s to fight in the Texas Revolution. He owned 300 acres near what is Baytown today. Britton died in 1841. 157
BROADMOOR: See sidebar Tennis or Golf, Anyone?, page 348.
BROADMOOR: The Broadmoor Corporation developed this neighborhood and thoroughfare off Telephone Road. 158
BROM BONES: Abraham “Brom” Bones is the town rowdy in Sleepy Hollow. He is competing with Ichabod Crane for the hand of the farmer’s daughter, Katrina. The story leads the reader to believe that Bones dressed up as the Headless Horseman and ran Crane out of town. (See Washington Irving, Crane, Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown.) 159
BROOKSHIRE-FULSHEAR: Captain Nathan Brookshire received a land grant here from Stephen F. Austin in 1835. He was a member of Austin’s fifth colony. The town became a booming agricultural area when the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad arrived allowing farmers to easily transport their crops to market. Since 1900 rice has been a major crop in Brookshire. (See Katy-Fulshear.) 160
BROOKSIDE VILLAGE: This community sprang up on the banks of Clear Creek in north central Brazoria County in the 1930s. It was once served by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. Today the population is about 2,000. 157
BROOKSIDE: This road leads to Brookside Village, a residential community that sits south of Houston on the Harris and Brazoria County lines. It was once a stop on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. Maps show this village as early as 1936 but it did not incorporate until 1959. 161
BROWN: Jonel Leonard – This black gentleman was Chairman of the Department of Economics, Social Sciences and Geography at Prairie View A & M University from 1944 until 1969. Brown earned his degrees at Morehouse College (A. B.) and University of Wisconsin (A. M.) and (Ph.D.) He authored books including Money and Banking (1957) and Principals of Economics (1959). He earned many honors during his long career including a Distinguished Service Award from Prairie View. 162
» BROWN: Street sign on the prairie View A&M campus
BROWN: This Providence, R.I. university was chartered in 1764 as Rhode Island College. It was renamed in 1804 for philanthropist Nicholas Brown. 163
BROWNE: John T. – This Fifth Ward resident was elected mayor of Houston (1892-96). His residence was one block off Lyons Avenue at Odin and Gregg. One of his civic projects was to pave Lyons with bricks. He succeeded in the task but had the paving halted when it went one block past his intersection, leaving the rest unpaved. 164
BROWNING: Robert – This famous English poet was the husband of another great poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning. His masterpiece, The Ring and the Book, is a four-volume murder mystery. 165
BROWNWOOD: This upscale Baytown neighborhood and street are named for Edwin Rice Brown Sr. who purchased the property from Quincy Adams Wooster’s heirs. (See Wooster.) 166
BRUSHY CREEK: This Waller County road is named for this watercourse. It runs 10 miles and empties into Spring Creek. The name is derived from the abundance of elm, hackberry, loblolly pine and short leaf pine trees that line its banks. On February 13, 1687 the French explorer Rene La Salle crossed this creek on his way to the Trinity River. 167
BRUTUS: Marcus Junius – This Roman, along with Cassius and other conspirators, assassinated Julius Caesar on the Ides of March 44 B.C. He and Cassius fled Rome and took up arms against Marc Anthony who defeated them at the Battle of Philippi in 42 B.C. Brutus committed suicide after the battle. (See Cassius, Caesar and Marc Anthony) 168
BRYAN BEACH: This Gulf of Mexico coastal village is named for James Perry Bryan, a landowner in Brazoria County in the 1880s. Today it is principally a State Recreation Area used by beachgoers and fishermen. 169
BRYAN: John L. – This gentleman practiced dentistry in the Baytown area in the 1850s when he charged $1 to extract a tooth. He was a founder of Texas Methodist Church. 170
BRYAN: Louis R. Sr. (See Angleton.)
BRYAN: See sidebar Brazoria County’s Old Plantation Streets and Roads, page 258.
BRYN MAR: Bryn Mar College, located in the small Pennsylvania town of the same name, is credited with introducing “historic gothic” architecture to the U.S. The campus is modeled after Oxford and Cambridge in the U.K. 171
BUCCANEER: See sidebar Pirates of the Caribbean, page 280.
BUCKINGHAM: Located in a neighborhood with English street names, it is most likely named for Buckingham Palace in London. Built as a house in 1705 for John Sheffield, the duke of Buckingham, it was converted into a palace in the 1820’s. Since that time it has been the principal residence of the reigning English monarch. Today it draws huge crowds of tourists to witness the pomp and circumstance of the changing of the guard. 104
BUCKNER: B. P. – He was mayor of Houston in 1847-1848. Buckner served two terms during a financially difficult time for the city. Our treasury was broke and creditors were owed $1,300. However he was popular enough to be re-elected and have a street named for him. 172
BUDDE CEMETERY: This road leads to the historic old Budde family cemetery, also known as the Budde-Holzwarth cemetery. Among the early pioneer families buried here are the Lemms, Mittelstaedts, Haudes, Holzwarths and Tautenhahns. 173
BUETEL: Louis and Mary – This couple arrived in the Spring Valley area in the 1840s from Germany. Their property was near where Campbell and Westview intersect today. 174
BUFFALO RUN: This road runs in front of Thurgood Marshall High School in Missouri City. Their mascot is the buffalo. 175
BUFFALO SPEEDWAY: Urban legend says there was an automobile racetrack located south of where St. John’s School is on the corner of Westheimer and Buffalo Speedway that has long ceased to exist, as have the stock car racetracks at Arrowhead Park on Old Spanish Trail and at Playland Park on South Main. However, this is not true. The street earned its name when a mile long strip of concrete was laid where Buffalo Speedway is today. It seems every boy with a hot rod wanted to see how fast he could go on this smooth, straight strip, thus the name. 176
BUFORD: See sidebar Texas Heroes’ Names for Houston Streets Urged in 72 Proposed Changes, page 96.
BULL RUN: This is a small stream in northeast Virginia where two battles in the War Between the States occurred. On July 21, 1861 the Battle of Bull Run, or Manassas as Southerners call it, occurred. It was the first major engagement of the Civil War and was a victory for the Confederate States of America. The second battle, also a win for the Confederacy, took place on August 29, 1862. 177
BUNKER HILL: There are two possibilities for this street. First, there was a landowner in the area in the 1840s named Isaac Bunker. Second, another story says that prior to WW I this road was called Bunker, again possibly for the early settler. Later the name was changed to Bunker Hill to honor the June 17, 1775 battle between the British and the American Colonists during the War of Independence. 178
BURGUNDY: See sidebar Laissez les bon temps roulez (Let the good times roll), page 188.
BURKETT: John Robbins – Since many Houstonians killed during World War I had streets named in their honor in the 1920s it’s possible this one is named for a U. S. Army captain killed in France on September 18, 1918. He was the only attorney from our city who perished in the Great War. He was remembered with a tribute by the Harris County Bar Association that stated “A gallant knight without fear and without reproach.” Burkett Street first appears on the city map in 1924. 179
BURKHARDT: Take a look at a map of northwest Harris County to see how many family and church cemeteries are located there. Most of these were started by German immigrants who settled here and built Lutheran churches and dug burying grounds. The Burkhardt family arrived in the late 1800s and members are buried in the Siedel (Rosewood) cemetery including William Burkhardt (1837-1915). (See Siedel Cemetery.) 16
BURLINGTON: The developer of the Westmoreland Addition, W. W. Baldwin, named this street for his hometown of Burlington, Iowa. 180
BURLINGTON: This Montgomery County street recalls the Burlington Railroad. Started in 1849, over the next 150 years the line bought more than 390 other rail lines including such famous names as Great Northern, Frisco and Santa Fe. Today it is known as the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. (See Santa Fe.) 181
BURMA: This is one of many streets in Houston’s South Park Addition relating to World War II. This one most likely recalls the Burma Road, a lifeline used to transport military supplies, gasoline and other war materials to China. However, in May 1942 the Japanese Army seized the road cutting off the supply line. In order to continue re-supplying the Chinese Army cargo planes began flying materials over the Himalayas. Needless to say, this was a very dangerous operation with very high incidents of accidents. Called “flying the Burma Hump,” it was successful airlifting over 650,000 tons of war materials. It was the largest air bridge in the world until the 1949 Berlin airlift. Such legendary military figures as Generals Orde Wingate and Joseph Stillwell, Lord Mountbatten and Merrill’s Marauders saw action there. 182
BURNET: David Gouverneur – Burnet, a lawyer, came to Texas in 1826. He was President of the Republic of Texas in the difficult period following independence. Burnet opposed succession. Elected to the U. S. Senate in 1866, he was not allowed to be sworn in because Texas was a slave state. Burnet County was named for him following his death. Burnet Elementary School on Canal Street also honors this early Texan. 183
BURNET: Hannah Este – This early Baytown resident was the wife of David G. Burnet. Born in Morriston, N. J. in 1800 she died in 1858. Baytown honored her with this street. (See Burnet.) 184
BURNETT: John H. – This gentleman, who helped in drawing the plan for our neighboring community of Pasadena in 1893, once owned more than 3,000 acres that comprise the town today. 185
BURNING TREE: This hilly Bethesda, Maryland golf club was founded in 1924. It has been a favorite course of American Presidents because of its proximity to the White House. Its signature 16th hole is a 412-yard par four. Linksters must clear an elevated fairway and negotiate a small, well-bunkered green to score well here. Exclusively a men’s club, ladies are not allowed on the course. 186
BURRELL’S CHAPEL: Located on Bailey’s Prairie in Brazoria County this road leads to this small chapel. It was built in 1900 and is named for the first pastor Reverend Burrell. (See Bailey.) 187
BURTON CEMETERY: This far west Harris County road leads to the Burton-Mathis-Canon cemetery. At first this burying ground was solely used by the Burton and Mathis families. Some of the older tombstones here are W. T. (1833-1910) and Judge J. (1882-1947) Mathis. It appears that the Canon name was added much later as the Canon Funeral Home of Waller, Texas became associated with this property. (See Mathis) 35
BUTE: James – This son of a Scottish immigrant inherited the family business, Bute Paint Company, that still exists. In addition he was a landowner whose holdings included the area today near the street known as Westmoreland. He was very interested in gardening and became the first treasurer of the Texas Horticultural Society. 188
BUTLER: George W. – He settled in the Houston area in 1873. His land was located at the confluence of Clear Creek and Chigger Creek in northern Galveston County. The town was called Butler’s Ranch or Clear Creek until it was renamed League City in 1893. (See League.) 189
BUTTERFIELD: The Butterfield Overland Mail was a stagecoach line that ran from St. Louis to Memphis, across Texas to El Paso, through New Mexico, on to Tucson and Fort Yuma in Arizona, turned north at San Diego and ended in San Francisco. It commenced service on September 15, 1858. The line was created to speed up mail service from the East coast to California. Travel time for a letter from St. Louis to San Francisco was less than 25 days. Maritime delivery of mail either around Cape Horn or through the Caribbean, across Panama on horseback and by ship to San Francisco took considerably longer. The line was named for its founder John Butterfield of Utica, New York. 190
If Julia Childs, Marcella Hazen or Diana Kennedy were to move to our area I suspect they would gravitate to a small suburb of Baytown named Preston Place. The reason – the culinary street names. In this little neighborhood we find Caraway, Thyme, Tarragon, Cinnamon, Cilantro, Ginger and Taro. And just in case someone burns a finger on a hot skillet you could treat the blister with Aloe. 7
BUTTERFLY: Along with other operatic related street names in this Memorial neighborhood, this lane honors the two-act Italian opera by Puccini, “Madam Butterfly.” It premiered in Milan in 1904. It is the story of a beautiful Japanese heroine who is deserted by an American naval officer. This opera contains a musical error in that the samisen is a lute-like stringed instrument that is plucked with the fingers and not a gong as Puccini made it. 191
BYRNE: Hugo O. – See sidebar Houston Streets Named for Men Killed During World War I, page 22.
BYRON: George Gordon Noel – This troubled soul, considered one of England’s greatest poets and satirists, made great contributions to the literature of the Romantic Era. His downfall was the result of his prodigious sexual appetite. Byron’s outcast status caused him to leave Britain in a self-imposed exile. Late in life while living with his mistress in Venice he became involved in the cause to gain Greek independence. He died of a fever in 1819. 192