Historic Houston Streets

by Marks Hinton

  GUADALUPE: The developer named this street for the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico. (See Annunciation.)

  GUINEVERE: She was the wife of King Arthur in the Arthurian legends. Her tragic affair with Sir Lancelot presaged the downfall of Arthur’s kingdom. Guinevere retired to a convent.

  GULF FREEWAY: Referred to as a “concrete engineering marvel - the longest toll-free superhighway in the nation constructed since WW II,” this expressway was 16 years in planning and another 6 to build. However, many believe it has never been finished based upon the continual construction that has taken place over the last half century. W. J. Van London, engineering manager of Houston Urban Expressways, designed and supervised construction of the freeway. The original cost was $28,643,521. Initially called the “Superhighway,” the city held a contest to rename it and in December 1952 Miss Sara Yancey won $100 for her choice of Gulf Freeway. It officially opened August 2, 1952.66

  GULF STATES POWER PLANT: This utility was founded in Beaumont in the early 1900s. Gulf States generates and transmits electric power. In 1992 the company was merged into New Orleans’ based Entergy Corporation. This short road leads to the GSU Lewis Creek Power Station #1 near Conroe.67

  GULF TERMINAL: Located on Houston’s industrial east side, this short street was created to offer frontage to trucking companies seeking terminal space to store and ship goods.68

  GULF: The city of Baytown is proud of its roots as a major center for oil refining. One neighborhood there honors some of the old-line oil refiners such as Gulf Oil, Humble Oil & Refining and Superior Oil. Gulf Oil was born with the discovery of oil at Spindletop, near Beaumont, in 1901. The company is best remembered for its orange disc logo as well as “Gulfpride Motor Oil.” (See Spindletop.)69

  GUM GULLY: Located 1.5 miles east of Lake Houston, this street is named for the gully of the same name. This short watercourse only runs 2.5 miles from its headwaters to its mouth on Jackson Bayou. (See Jackson Bayou.)70

  GUNRANGE: This short League City street leads to the Clear Creek Gun Range so exercise caution when driving by.71

  GWINN: See sidebar Texas Heroes’ Names for Houston Streets Urged in 72 Proposed Changes, page 96.

  FAIRBANKS COULD HAVE ITS OWN CONCOURS D’ ELEGANCE AND ROAD RALLY

  Fairbanks is a pleasant little neighborhood north of Hempstead Highway. The developer was clearly a fan of exotic antique automobiles because he named the streets here for some of the more interesting vehicles. When automobile collectors get together to show off their prize wheels it is often called a Concours d’ Elegance. The event usually includes a road rally when the owners drive these beautiful machines around the countryside. So here you could display and drive the following vehicles:

  Henry J. Kaiser and Joseph W. Frazer formed Kaiser-Frazer Corporation in 1945 to produce automobiles. Brands included Kaiser, Henry J., Frazer, Willys and Jeep.

  PACKARD was a luxury automobile manufactured by the Packard Motor Car Company of South Bend, Indiana. Founded by James W. and William D. Packard and George L. Weiss in 1899, this company introduced many new innovations including the modern steering wheel and the 12-cylinder engine.

  ASTON MARTIN is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars founded in 1913. It takes its name from a founder, Lionel Martin, and the Aston Hill speed climb race. Today this vehicle is best associated with Agent 007, James Bond.

  George Singer founded a bicycle company in England in 1875. By 1905 he was producing an automobile called the Singer. This brand disappeared in 1970.

  When Ransom E. Olds left the Olds Motor Works he formed a new auto manufacturing company called REO Motor Car Company. The name came from his initials and he called his automobile a REO.

  STANLEY Motor Carriage Company was founded in 1897 by Francis and Freelan Stanley. Their most innovative auto hit the market in 1902 and was sold until 1924. It was driven by a steam engine and was called the Stanley Steamer. During their peak years this vehicle outsold every gasoline powered car in the market.

  SPRITE was produced by Austin Healey, an English manufacturer. Starting in 1958 this economical roadster known as “Bug Eyes” due to its oversized headlights, used the catchy marketing phrase “a chap can keep his bike in the shed.” Eventually it was rebadged as the MG Midget. Production ceased in 1980.

  Premier Motor Manufacturing Company produced a luxury car called the Premier at their factory in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was manufactured from 1903 until the 1920s. A model from 1903 is on display at the Indianapolis 500 Speedway Museum.

  Tony Vandervell owned a Formula One racing team in the 1950s. He invented and patented Thinwall Bearings. When he engineered his own race car in 1954 he called it the Vanwall, a combination of his name and the bearing. 28

  H

  H.M.C.: (See M.A.S.)1

  HADLEY: Thomas B. J. – This early Houstonian was a Harris County judge, chief justice of the county in 1863-64 and very active in civic affairs. He is remembered for his hard work on the Committee for Annexation of Texas along with other Houstonians honored with street names including Thomas M. Bagby, William Marsh Rice and Francis R. Lubbock. He was a founding member of the First Baptist Church of Houston in 1841. As an interesting side note his wife was named Piety and his sister-in-law was Obedience. The Hadley farm was located near where Montrose is today. In the 1870s the Texas State Fair was held on a portion of the land that the family sold to the Fair Association. (See Fairview.)2

  HALLMARK: This road leads to one of the city’s more upscale retirement communities of the same name.3

  HALL’S BAYOU: This bayou is named for Jacob Hall who was a sizable landowner along its banks. Its source is northeast of Angleton. Hall’s Bayou runs 18 miles, passing through Hall’s Lake and the Narrows before emptying into Chocolate Bayou.4

  HALPERN: Lawrence – See sidebar Houston Streets Named for Men Killed During World War I, page 22.

  HALSEY: William Frederick “Bull” Jr. – He was Commander of the Pacific theater in World War II. Although he saw much action during the War as commander of an aircraft carrier fleet, Halsey is most remembered for the crippling blow he delivered to the Japanese Navy at the battle of Leyte Gulf on October 23-26, 1944. His brilliant tactics in this, possibly the most complex naval battle of the Pacific War, resulted in the Japanese losing three battleships, four aircraft carriers, ten cruisers and nine destroyers – 300,000 tons of shipping. At the same time Halsey kept his losses to just 37,000 tons.5

  HAMILTON: James – This former governor of South Carolina was a big supporter of Texas in its early years lending the state $200,000 in gold to finance operations. He was given scrip for land as collateral but it had little value back then. Unfortunately for 20 years Texas refused to repay him. Finally the powers that were agreed to meet with Hamilton and discuss an “adjustment.” He sailed from New Orleans for Galveston. However his ship was rammed by another boat in the Gulf and was sinking. He gave his life vest to a woman and her child. In the end not only did he never see a cent of his money, he drowned in the accident. 6

  HAMLET: He was the Danish prince in William Shakespeare’s play of the same name.

  HAMPTON: Wade – He was the prototypical aristocratic southerner in antebellum South Carolina. Hampton fought for the Confederates at Manassas, Seven Pines and Gettysburg. He was severely wounded at the latter two engagements. After the War he was first elected governor of South Carolina and later U. S. Senator. 7

  HANCOCK: See sidebar America the Beautiful, page 176.

  HANSEL: This young boy and his sister Gretel are characters in Grimm’s Fairy Tales. They are abandoned in a forest by their poor parents, leave a trail of bread crumbs, come upon a house of cake and sugar owned by a witch and barely escape her clutches to find their way home.

  HANSFORD: John M. – It is likely this street was named after a judge who served the Republic of Texas and met a tragic and violent end. After the Louisiana Purchase, America and Spain could not agree on a borderline so an area called the Neutra
l Ground was created. This area drew a violent criminal element that eventually provoked the Regulator-Moderator War. Hansford’s efforts to clean up this mess infuriated some Regulators who captured the Judge’s home and gunned him down. 8

  HARBORSIDE: Until recently this was known as Port Industrial as it did pass through the more industrial sections of the Port of Galveston. Since the city fathers have been working hard to make Galveston a major tourist destination, have attracted cruise ships and cleaned up the waterfront, a name change was in order. 9

  HARDING: Warren G. – This 29th President of the United States died in office after serving a little more than two years of his term. His reputation suffered from one of the most scandal plagued administrations (mainly the Tea Pot Dome) prior to the arrival of William Jefferson Clinton to the White House. In addition, his philandering did not enhance his place in history. 10

  HARGRAVE: North of downtown and east of the Tomball Parkway is where the Hargrave and Hilton families purchased land in the 1860s. Their family cemetery is located in a grove of trees near here. 11

  HARLEM: The area where this Fort Bend County road is located was the Harlem Prison Farm from 1885 until the 1950’s when the name was changed to Jester State Prison Farm. It was the second prison farm owned by the State of Texas. In 1913 twelve black inmates were locked in a tiny enclosure 9’x7’x6’. Eight suffocated and the guards were charged with negligent homicide. They were not convicted but were reprimanded for “bad judgment.” (See Prison.)12

  HAROLD: J. W. Link, developer of Montrose, named this street for his son Harold Link. (See Montrose.)13

  HARPERS FERRY: A picturesque town in eastern West Virginia, it is famous for abolitionist John Brown and 21 followers’ raid on the arsenal there on October 16, 1859. The next morning a company of U.S. Marines under the command of then Colonel Robert E. Lee recaptured the armory, killing 10 of Brown’s men and wounding Brown. For his trouble Brown was hanged on December 2, 1859.14

  HARRIS COUNTY: This road is named for our county. Harris County is bounded on the north and west by Waller County, the north by Montgomery County, on the east by Liberty and Chambers Counties, on the south by Galveston and Brazoria Counties and the west by Fort Bend County. Almost 75% of its 1,778 square mile area is covered by Houston and 30 smaller communities. It averages 55-feet above sea level, has average rainfall of 48.19 inches and a mean temperature of 69.1 degrees.15

  HARRIS RESERVOIR: Named for William Harris, who settled in what is now Brazoria County in 1824, it is an off-channel project between the Brazos River and Oyster Creek. The reservoir is owned by Dow Chemical Company and is used as an industrial water supply for plants in the Freeport area. (See Dry Bayou.)16

  HARRIS: Robert Locke or Robert Dudley – Robert was the first doctor in Fort Bend County. His son, Robert Dudley Harris, became the first doctor in Fulshear. (See Katy-Fulshear.)17

  HARRIS: William Plunkett – This New York native moved to Texas in 1830 and developed a plantation at Red Bluff on Galveston Bay near where this Seabrook street is today. Harris operated a steamboat line and volunteered his boat Cayuga for service during the Texas Revolution. In the 12-day period between April 15 and 26, 1836 the Cayuga served as the temporary capitol of the interim Texas government. His brother was John Richardson Harris for whom Harris County is named. (See stock certificate on next page showing William P. Harris’ partial ownership of Harrisburg.)18

  HARRISBURG: John Richardson Harris established the town of Harrisburg in 1825. He named it after himself as well as after Harrisburg Pennsylvania, a city founded by his great grandfather. General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna burned the town on April 16, 1836, five days before his fateful encounter with Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto. In 1847 Harrisburg became the first railroad terminal in Texas with the creation of the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado Railroad Company. Houston annexed the town in December 1926. 19

  » HARRISBURG: A stock certificate representing ownership in the town of Harrisburg

  HARRISON: Benjamin – The 23rd President of the United States, not unlike George W. Bush, the 43rd to hold that office, won the electoral college tally but lost the popular vote to Grover Cleveland in 1889. Republicans reluctantly nominated Harrison to run for a second term despite his flagging popularity. He lost to Cleveland in the rematch in 1893. 20

  HARTLAND: See sidebar All Things English, page 175.

  HARTMAN: Fred – He was one of our quintessential newspaper editors. Hartman was chairman of Southern Newspapers Inc., publisher of the Baytown Sun. He held the title of editor from 1950 until 1974. He would peddle his bicycle to the Houston Ship Channel and ride the ferry across to his office. He was a great friend of former Houston Mayor Bob Lanier (who delivered the Sun as a boy). It was through Lanier’s influence that the bridge spanning the ship channel was named for Hartman. The fact this bridge took three years longer to construct and was over budget by $27 million does not take away from its visual beauty. The 1,250-foot span (the longest in the State) is held 178 feet above the Houston Ship Channel by two 440-foot diamond shaped towers that hold up the steel cables of this suspension bridge. With eight lanes of traffic and generous shoulders, it is the widest cable-stayed bridge in the world. 21

  HARVARD: This street is named after Harvard University, the nation’s oldest bastion of higher learning. Founded in 1636, it is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. My favorite story about Harvard tells of a Russian delegation visiting the campus just after the Russian Revolution in 1919. When they saw the huge library the visitors asked the dean, who was acting as their guide, “How has America, such a young country, managed to amass such a great volume of knowledge?” In response the dean said, “It’s because the freshmen bring so much knowledge and the seniors take so little away.”22

  HARVEY: (See Whiting.)

  HASKELL: Charles Ready – This brave Tennessee volunteer came to Texas to fight in the Revolution. He saw action at the Battle of Coleto but was killed in the Goliad Massacre. Haskell County is also named in his honor.23

  HASTINGS FIELD: This oil field was discovered by Stanolind Oil & Gas Company (later to become Amoco) on December 23, 1934. It is located 18 miles south of Houston. Two days after Stanolind announced its discovery well lease prices here jumped from $1 per acre to $5,000 per acre. Although production has diminished over the years it still produces oil today. (See Hastings-Friendswood and Stanolin.)13

  HASTINGS-FRIENDSWOOD: Now swallowed up by Angleton, Hastings was a small community on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. It was named for a pioneer family who lived in the area. (See Hastings Field.)24

  HAUDE: Most of the early settlers in the Klein, Texas area were German Lutherans. In 1874 these pioneers founded Trinity Lutheran Church. The Haude family was among these settlers and church members. A number of Haudes are buried in the old Budde Cemetery off of Louetta Road and I-45 North. (See Budde Cemetery.)25

  HAWKINS: John P. – See sidebar Houston Streets Named for Men Killed During World War I, page 22.

  HAWTHORNE: Nathaniel – He was one of America’s greatest novelists. In a very short period he published his two best-known works – The Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of Seven Gables (1851).26

  HAZARD: See Southampton’s English Streets, page 255.

  HEDWIG: In return for allowing the city to put a road through his property, Henry Schroeder had this street named for a relative, Hedwig Jankowski Schroeder, who came to Houston in 1906 from Germany. Located in Hedwig Village, an affluent neighborhood in the Memorial area, most of the acreage here was originally part of the John D. Taylor and Isaac Bunker leagues. (See Bunker Hill and Taylorcrest.)27

  HEGAR: Louis – In 1847 a German immigrant named Otto Hegar purchased some land in Waller County where this road is located. By 1887 his son, Oscar George Hegar, had settled in the area and was operating a general store. In 1899 he became postmaster of this rural farming community. Louis Hegar was a very successful rancher in the area. He would drive his herd north in the spring
along the Salt Grass Trail and bring them back to the ranch for winter foraging. Many of the early area residents are buried in the Macedonia Methodist Cemetery located between Hegar and Macedonia School Roads. (See Springer Cemetery.) 28, 29

  HEGAR: Otto – The Hegar family were German immigrants who settled on land northwest of Waller, Texas in 1847. By 1887 a town known as Hegar or Springer existed. Oscar George Hegar, Otto’s son, had opened a general store and post office by 1899. Family members are buried in the nearby Roberts Cemetery including Wm. Hegar (1826-1895). (See Roberts Cemetery.)30

  » HEIGHTS: Heights Boulevard with trolley

  HEIGHTS: Houston Heights was incorporated in 1891. It was named because of it’s proximity to Houston and the fact that the elevation was over 70 feet above sea level, 23 feet more altitude than downtown Houston. Heights Boulevard was modeled after Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. The City annexed this historic neighborhood in 1918. 31

  HEINER: Eugene T. – He was Houston’s most famous architect of the late 19th century. Heiner’s specialty was designing courthouses (Galveston, Hallettsville), jails (Galveston, Harris and Tarrant counties) and prisons (Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville). Among his educational offerings were buildings on the Texas A & M campus. Heiner is most re-membered for his magnificent High Victorian style Cotton Exchange & Board of Trade building (1884) on Houston’s Market Square. Other commercial successes included the Sweeney & Coombs building (1880), Henry Brashear building (1882) and the Houston Ice & Brewing Company plant (1893). He loved to employ stucco, color, texture and cast iron in his edifices. In addition, in 1891 Heiner was a founder and the first secretary of the Houston Business League, a commercial association of leading citizens. One of Heiner’s advertisements is on the previous page. (See Kincheloe.)32