Historic Houston Streets
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EVERETT: See sidebar Tennis or Golf, Anyone?, page 348.
EVERGREEN: In 1847 Ashbel Smith purchased Evergreen Plantation from Mosley Baker for $5,000. Located in Baytown near the mouth of Cedar Bayou on Galveston Bay, all that remain of this historic site are the Evergreen Plantation Cemetery and this street named in honor of that ranch. In 1915 the famous Goose Creek Oilfield was discovered on land that was formerly the plantation. (See Ashbel and Goose Creek.) 50
EVERTON: M. D. – See sidebar Houston Streets named for Men Killed During World War I, page 22.
EWELL: Richard Stoddert – This Confederate general saw as much action as almost any officer in the War Between the States. He led his troops in the Battles of Crosskeys (1862), Seven Days (1862), Cedar Mountain (1862), Richmond (1862), Manassas II (1862), Winchester (1863), Gettysburg (1863), Wilderness (1864) and Spotsylvania (1864). He was shot at Groveton, Virginia in 1862 and lost a leg. However, Ewell was undeterred by this mishap. Following his recovery he would be hoisted upon his horse and strapped to the saddle so he could lead his men. Tough guy! 18
EWING: Presley K. – This prominent Houston attorney was president of the Texas Bar Association in 1899 and was elected Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court in 1903. Ewing was a factor in the social scene and served as King Nottoc in the 1904 No-tsu-oH Carnival. (Nottoc is cotton spelled backwards and No-tsu-oH is Houston reversed.) He was not the only famous person in his family. His wife Nell was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame for her civic activities. 51
EXCALIBUR: This is the name of the famous sword that the Lady of the Lake gave to King Arthur.
EXXON: This gigantic energy company traces it roots back to the late 19th century. It was once part of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust that the Supreme Court broke apart into 34 different firms in 1911. Today the company has worldwide operations including: oil and gas exploration, refining, chemicals, petrochemicals, etc. 52
» EXXON: Street sign near Conroe
EZZARD CHARLES: He held the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship for less than a year between 1950 and 1951. His only claim to fame was out-pointing an aging Joe Louis, who returned to the ring from retirement as the undefeated champ. Charles was knocked out in the 7th round of his 1951 fight with Jersey Joe Walcott and was never a contender again. Why did we ever name a street in North Houston after him? 53
HONORING NATIVE AMERICANS IN BAYTOWN
Developers of Meadow Lake in Baytown used an Indian theme to name their streets. Tribes remembered here are Apache, Shoshone, Seminole, Cherokee, Shawnee, Huron, Mohawk, Arapaho, Erie, Osage, Cheyenne, Chippewa, Kiowa, Pawnee, Choctaw, Caddo, Sioux, Wichita, Mohave, Makah, Mohegan, Chetco, Omaha and Taino. Streets related to the theme include Broken Arrow, Beaver Bend, Sundance, Seneca, Mesa, pocahontas, Hiawatha and Bighorn. 24
F
FACTORY OUTLET: City officials in Hempstead named this street for the VF Corporation’s huge mall of outlet stores that are a major contributor to city revenue. The outlet opened in 1970. 1
FACULTY: See sidebar Neighborhoods with Interesting Street Names, page 104.
FAIRBANKS: This road as well as Fairbanks-North Houston and Fairbanks-White Oak are all named after the small town of Fairbanks on U.S. 290 just west of Houston. Founded in 1893 as a stop on the Texas & New Orleans Railroad, the area was originally called Gum Island for all the gum trees that grew along White Oak Bayou that runs nearby. When a settler name Fairbanks founded the town he named it for himself. 2
FAIRCHILDS-LONG POINT: Long Point was named by early settlers for a point of timber that extended a considerable distance into the coastal prairie lands. A sulfur dome and an oilfield were discovered in 1836 near this tiny Fort Bend County town. (See Fairchilds.) 3
FAIRCHILDS: In 1840 Philo Fairchilds built a home in Fort Bend County. By 1890 the area had attracted a number of immigrant farmers from Germany. In 1896 a colony of 50 northern Mennonite families established residence in Fairchilds. A malaria epidemic and the Great Storm of 1900 eventually drove them away. Since that time it has remained a small rural community. 4
FAIRGROUNDS: The Brazoria County Fairgrounds in Angleton are located on this road. 5
FAIRVIEW: This street is named for the Fairview Addition through which it passes. Most likely the name came from the fact that, from this street, residents in the 1870s would have had a clear view of the State Fairgrounds, located south of what is today the Pierce Elevated. A Southern Pacific Railroad station named Fairview was located in the middle of the neighborhood. In the 1920s the Houston & Fairview Street Railway ran down the avenue. 6
FAIRWAY: See sidebar Tennis or Golf, Anyone?, page 348.
FALCON: (See Cougar.)
FANNIN: James Walker, Jr. – He was born in 1804 in Georgia. Fannin attended the U. S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. He moved his family to Texas in 1834 and immediately became an agitator for Texas Independence. Fannin fought at the Battle of Gonzales, Battle of Conception and Siege of Bexar. He was captured by Santa Anna and taken to Goliad where he was executed in what we call the “Goliad Massacre.” This Tomball street remembers this Texas hero as does Fannin County and the town of Fannin. (See Goliad and Bexar.)7
» FANNIN: A portrait of James Walker Fannin, Jr.
FARBER: Jerome H. – Located in Southside Place, Farber recalls a director of the Houston Chamber of Commerce in the early 1900s. 8
FARISH: William Stamps – He was born in Mississippi in 1881. His granduncle was Confederate States of America president Jefferson Davis. Farish earned a law degree but soon fell under the spell of the oil business and moved to Beaumont to drill in the Spindletop oilfield. In 1917 he and others organized Humble Oil & Refining Company (now Exxon Mobil). Farish eventually was named chairman and president of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. He was a great aficionado of polo and stabled his ponies where this Memorial area lane is located. (See Spindletop.) 9
FARM & RANCH: This Bear Creek Park road leads to the Farm & Ranch Club, an organization that promotes agriculture and ranching in the area. Founded in 1947, the club awards scholarships as well as makes their facilities available to youth groups including Boy and Girl Scouts, 4-H, FFA and FHA. 10
FARRAGUT: David Glasgow – An American admiral, he saw action in the War of 1812, the Mexican War and the Civil War. Although a Southerner by birth he opposed secession and fought for the Union. His most famous encounter was the capture of Mobile Bay, Alabama in August 1864 effectively ending the Confederates’ ability to run the Northern naval blockade. He is remembered for his famous quote during that battle “Damn the torpedoes full speed ahead!” 11
FARRINGTON: This gentleman was a real estate developer in La Porte, Texas. He built the first 100 homes in the Fairmont Park addition where this boulevard is located. Fairmont Parkway, a word play on his last name, forms the southern border of the neighborhood. 12
FASHION: August J. – See sidebar Houston Streets Named for Men Killed During World War I, page 22.
FAULKEY GULLY: Located in northwest Harris County, this street is named for the watercourse of the same name located near it. Faulkey Gully runs six miles from its headwaters and empties into Cypress Creek. It traverses an area where the coastal plain begins to yield to woodlands. Following the War Between the States, freed slaves settled along this gully that was known as “the Bottoms” at that time. 13
FAUNA: This street is all that remains of a small town that sat alongside the Texas & New Orleans Railroad line. By the 1960s all that was visible was an abandoned depot, now long gone. 14
FAUST: This legendary 16th century German magician and charlatan sold his soul to the devil, Mephistopheles, in return for knowledge and pleasure. In Christopher Marlow’s Dr. Faustus he is depicted as a talented man who is doomed to failure by his own limitations. He receives better treatment at the pen of Johann Goethe. In Faust his failings are forgiven in the end as he is portrayed as striving for good. 15
FAYLE: William R. – This Englishman arrived in the Baytown area in 18
59. He was a merchant and operated a brickyard. Fayle was a founder of Texas Methodist Church. 16
FEAGAN: Richard H. – This man served in the U. S. Navy in WW I. He died from disease as did many American servicemen during the Great War. 17
HOUSTON STREETS ASSOCIATED WITH CEMETERIES
Cemeteries, burial grounds, boot hill, places of eternal rest, marble orchards, memorial gardens or whatever else we call these sites, they allow us to identify where those who proceeded us through this veil of tears have been laid to rest. In Houston we have numerous streets, roads and lanes that lead to our public, private, churchyard and military cemeteries. In the city you can find our ancestors buried at the end of roads called: Budde Cemetery, Burton Cemetery, Fritsche Cemetery, Kidd Cemetery, Klein Cemetery, Knigge Cemetery, Lutheran Cemetery, Macedonia Cemetery, Mueller Cemetery, Old Cemetery, Roberts Cemetery, Sanders Cemetery, Siedel Cemetery, Tetter Cemetery, Tomball Cemetery and White Cemetery. 25
FENN: The Fenn family arrived in Texas in 1833. John Rutherford Fenn settled in Fort Bend County on land fronting the Brazos River. He engaged in farming and ranching. Francis Marion Oatis Fenn attended Roanoke College in Virginia and studied law at the University of Virginia. He developed a liking for politics while in school. In 1886 he supported former Houston mayor Alexander McGowan for County Treasurer, a post he would hold for the rest of his life. The following year he backed the successful election of D. C. Smith for mayor of Richmond. 18
FENSKE: German families began settling the area along Little Cypress Creek in the 1840’s. A town sprang up called Cypress City. However, it was really little more than several general stores, a post office and a saloon. The Fenske family arrived with the second wave of German settlers who came to the area. 19
FERN: E. A. “Squatty” Lyons was a Harris County commissioner for decades beginning in the 1940s. For ages his wife, Fern, asked Squatty to name a street after her. He resisted for years but finally relented and named a short street that was about to be redistricted into another precinct on the south side of Darrell Tully Stadium for her. When she saw the street she said, “…he picked something just like me: short and something he hoped he wouldn’t have to maintain for very long.” 20
FERRY: Named for the Galveston Island Ferry, ferries have been part of the Texas transportation system since the 19th century. In 1929 the first regularly scheduled ferry service between Galveston and Bolivar Peninsula was instituted. Today TxDOT operates five free ferries daily that are capable of transporting 70 vehicles and 500 passengers per trip. The 2.7 mile voyage takes about 18 minutes. The greatest number of passengers carried in a day was 43,472 on July 3, 1994. The record for vehicles was set July 4,1993 with 12,733. 21
» FERRY: Known as the Boliver Ferry, docked in Galveston
FIELD STORE: In 1872 Andrew Field and his son, Druey Holland Field opened this general store 10 miles northeast of Hempstead. By 1874 a small community with the name Field Store had risen here. When cotton gins were established in nearby Myrtle Grove and Joseph the population of Field Store began declining. Today it only exists on maps as this road. 22
FIELDS: W. I. – He was born in Kentucky in 1834. Fields visited Texas several times before deciding to make it his home. After the War Between the States he moved to Houston and worked as a cotton trader. Later he drove a heard of cattle from Houston to Kansas City. Fields moved to Fort Bend County and became one of the largest planters in the area. His home was near Sartartia where he lived for 35 years. He also served a four year term as county commissioner. (See Sartartia.) 23
FIGARO: A dramatic character in the opera Barber of Seville, he is remembered as a daring and clever rogue involved in all forms of intrigue. 24
FINNIGAN: John D. – This early Houston pioneer was a hide and leather merchant. Finnigan once owned the Nichols-Rice-Cherry house that is now property of the Harris County Heritage Society and is on display in Sam Houston Park. He paid $2,500 for the property in 1886. In 1894 he decided to sell and requested sealed bids. The only one he received was from a starving artist. Emma Richardson Cherry and her husband offered $25. Since there was no reserve set, the house and furnishings were theirs. Finnigan’s daughter, Annette, was a suffragist and art patron. She helped establish the State Woman Suffrage Association and served as its president in 1904-1906. She gave the city 18 acres of land on the northeast side to be used as a recreation area principally for the area’s black citizens. Finnigan Park is named in her honor. 25
» FINNIGAN: Annette Finnigan graduation day
FIRST COLONY: When Sugar Land Industries decided to liquidate its assets in 1972, Houston real estate developer, Gerald Hines (builder of The Galleria), offered $43 million for 7,500 acres of prime land in Fort Bend County owned by them. At the time it was one of the largest land deals ever done in Texas. Hinds began construction on this huge master planned community in 1976. 26
FISHER: Jeremiah – Born in 1819 Fisher and his family owned a farm on Trinity Bay. He was instrumental in founding the early Methodist church in the Baytown area. 27
FITZGERALD: Susan Ann Hodges – She was the wife of Amos Barber. Fitzgerald was her maiden name. They were the first settlers in the area around Mont Belvieu. (See Barbers Hill.)28
FIVE IRON: See sidebar A Neighborhood for Linksters, page 318.
FLAHERTY: Pat – See Salt Grass Trail
FLETCHER CHRISTIAN: See sidebar Pirates of the Caribbean, page 280.
FLEWELLEN: The Katy-Flewellen road once connected these two farming communities. Flewellen was originally part of Stephen F. Austin’s colony. The site of this virtual ghost town is located off of FM 1093 (Westheimer Road in eastern Fort Bend County) at Spring Green Road on the way to Fulshear, Texas. It was named for an early resident of the area.29
FLORA: This lady is the wife of real estate developer William. W. Baldwin. (See Bellaire.)30
FLORENCE: William A. Wilson developed Woodland Heights on Houston’s near north side. He named this street and Helen for his daughters.31
FLORES BAYOU: This watercourse rises north of Angleton and flows 12 miles southeast to its mouth on Austin Bayou. About midway there is a dam that created Bieri Lakes.32
FLOWERS: See sidebar Texas Heroes’ Names for Houston Streets Urged in 72 Proposed changes, page 96.
FLOYD: Lewis – See sidebar Houston Streets Named for Men Killed During World War I, page 22.
FONDREN: The Fondren family made their fortune in oil but is remembered for their philanthropy. Patriarch Walter William Fondren (1877-1939) was an orphan who worked on farms and in sawmills until his mid-teens. He came to Texas in 1897 to work in the oil business. He had a nose for finding large oilfields. In 1911 he, along with several partners, founded Humble Oil & Refining Company (Exxon Mobile today) and the rest is history. Because of his lack of a formal education, Fondren gave a fortune to universities for libraries and scholarships so others would be able to earn a degree.33
FOOTBALL: As far as I can tell this is the only area street named for a sport. It leads to Turner Stadium on the campus of Humble 9th Grade School.34
FOOTE: Albert Horton Jr. – This man was one of Wharton’s most famous residents which leads me to believe this street is named for him. Foote was a playwright and Academy Award winning screenwriter for his work on the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird and 1983’s Tender Mercies. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1995 for his play The Young Man from Atlanta. Foote was named for his ancestor Albert Horton, Texas first lieutenant governor. (See Horton.)35
» FONDREN: Fondren family gravesite in Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery
FOOTE: Henry Stuart – This early Texas traveler sailed into Galveston Bay and up Buffalo Bayou in 1840. He wrote a book about his adventures in which he makes one of the very few references to buffalos in the area. He claims to have seen a large herd on the shores of the Bay. But you must remember the artists who painted scenes of early Houston included mountains in the background. So take this sighting with a grain of salt. He goes on to mention huge flocks of white bi
rds (probably ibis and egrets), pelicans, eagles, ricebirds, flamingos (most likely roseate spoonbills) and cranes.36
FORDHAM: This New York City university was founded as a Jesuit college in 1841.37
FORRESTAL: James Vincent. – He was a high-ranking official in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration during WW II. Named Undersecretary of the Navy in 1940, Forrestal was elevated to Naval Secretary in 1944. He served in that position for three years. He was made the first Secretary of Defense in 1947, a position he held until his death in 1949.38
FORT BEND: In 1822 colonists from Stephen F. Austin’s Old 300 built a blockhouse on a wide bend in the Brazos River for protection against Indian raids. The small settlement here was absorbed into Richmond, Texas in 1838 after that town was named the county seat.39
FORT CROCKETT: Named for Alamo hero Davy Crockett, this was a military base on Galveston Island used for coastal artillery training and harbor defense. Founded in 1897 little remains today. One of its 10-inch gun emplacements (minus the artillery) is visible on the San Luis Hotel property. German prisoners-of-war were incarcerated here during World War II. Following that conflict Fort Crocket was used as a military recreational area. The government declared the property surplus in 1955 and began selling it. (See Crockett.)40
ANTEBELLUM STREETS OF RIVER PLANTATION
River Plantation is a lovely wooded neighborhood that sits along the banks of the San Jacinto River in southern Montgomery County. Many of the streets here recall the halcyon days of the Old South. Bellingrath is named for the 65-acre garden in Mobile, Alabama created by Walter Bellingrath and his wife. It was opened in 1932-4. The garden is abloom with camellias in winter, azaleas in spring, roses in summer and chrysanthemums in fall. Braxton Brag was a Confederate general. After graduating from West Point he fought in the Seminole and Mexican Wars. Bragg saw action at some of the bloodiest battles of the War Between the States including Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Chattanooga and Chickamauga. Fort Bragg in North Carolina is named in his honor. Chicora Wood is a South Carolina plantation. It was built in 1809. Today the property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Jubal Early was also a Confederate general. He was born in Virginia in 1816. Like Bragg, he was a West Point graduate who saw action in the Seminole and Mexican Wars before commanding in the War Between the States. Early fought at Williamsburg, First and Second Manassas, Fredericksburg and Waynesboro. When he died in 1894 it was said “Virginia holds the dust of many a faithful son, but not one whom loved her more, who fought for her better or would have died for her more willingly.” Old Hickory is the nickname of Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States. During his distinguished military career he fought the British several times including the decisive Battle of New Orleans in 1812. Jackson was elected President in 1828 and again in 1832. He is remembered also for his policy of Jacksonian Democracy. Petersburg was where one of the longest battles of the War Between the States took place. Union troops attacked on June 15, 1864 but were repelled. Then the North laid siege to the town. That tactic was employed until April 1865. Rapidan is the largest tributary of the Rappahannock River of north-central Virginia. Numerous battles were fought here during the War Between the States (Ely’s Ford, Chancellorsville, Brandy Station and The Wilderness). Its name is a combination of “rapids” and Queen Anne of England. Stone Mountain is a 1,686 foot granite dome near a town of the same name in Georgia. It is known for its geology and the enormous bas-relief on its north face. The carved surface is three acres, making it the world’s largest bas-relief. It features Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson along with their horses Blackjack, Traveler and Little Sorrel. Stonewall Jackson was one of the Confederacy’s greatest military heroes. His first name was Thomas. Jackson earned his nickname at the first Battle of Bull Run when General Barnard Bee stated “he stood there like a stonewall” in the face of withering fire from Union troops. Jackson fought valiantly during the Valley Campaign as well as at Antietam and Fredericksburg. He was killed by friendly fire at Chancellorsville while riding into his camp at night. (See Chancellorsville.) 26