by Marks Hinton
LONGFELLOW: Henry Wadsworth - He is one of the most famous American poets of the 19th century. Among his works are The Song of Hiawatha, Evangeline and The Wreck of the Hesperus. J. S. Cullinan named this Shadyside neighborhood street for Longfellow, his favorite poet. 58
LONGHORN: This street in western Harris County recalls the famous Texas bovine of the Old West. It is located on the former site of the LH-7 Ranch. Emil Marks, known as the Longhorn King of Texas, owned that spread. (See Marks.) 59
LONGHORN CAVERN: See sidebar The Most Scenic Spots in Texas, page 310.
LONGMONT: Mary Catherine Farrington Miller, daughter of Tanglewood developer William G. Farrington, says their family had a summer home in Estes Park, Colorado. They would pass through Longmont on the way to the house. Her father liked the name and since he wanted street names that were easy to spell and remember, he chose it over Estes Park. 60
LOOSCAN: Michael – This Welshman was a Houston City Attorney. He was a close friend of James S. Hogg and was the campaign manager of Hogg’s successful run for governor in 1890. Because of his help in that election, the governor’s son, Mike Hogg, named this River Oaks street in Looscan’s honor. It is likely that Mike Hogg was named after Looscan. Houston does not have many streets named for women but this one should have been. Adele Briscoe Looscan, his wife, is just too important to ignore. Born in 1848, she was a member of the Ladies Reading Club and a founder of the Houston Public Library. A historian and author, Mrs. Looscan was president of the Texas Historical Association. Looscan Library was named in her honor. 18
» LOOSCAN: Adele Briscoe Looscan
LORD NELSON: Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson is England’s greatest naval hero. By age 20 he was in command of his own ship. He fought in the Battles of Cape St. Vincent, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Nile, Copenhagen and Cadiz. However, Lord Nelson will always be remembered for his great victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. On October 21, 1805 Nelson engaged the navies of France and Spain off Cape Trafalgar. By nightfall his 27 ships had sunk 22 of his enemies 33 vessels and captured their admirals. Not one British ship went down. Unfortunately, he was killed during the engagement but not before knowing victory was his. Nelson’s body was placed in a keg of rum and sent home to England for burial. His statue stands atop a column in Trafalgar Square in the heart of London. 61
» LORD NELSON: Statue in Gibralter near Trafalgar
LORRIE LAKE: In the Memorial neighborhood of Sandalwood there are two lakes. In the 1950s the developer named them and the streets for female family members Lorrie and Robin (Robin Lake.) Patti Lynn is also named for a family member. 62
LOST MAPLES: See sidebar The Most Scenic Spots in Texas, page 310.
LOTUS: See sidebar Bali Hai May Call You, page 322.
LOU-AL: Sources say this horseshoe shaped Hedwig Village street was named by combining the names of two residents, Louise and Alfred Riedel. 63
LOUETTA: This north Harris County street reminds residents of Louetta Station located on the Burlington Rock Island rail line that passed through this Spring-Cypress area in the early 1900s. The main industries were sawmills and cotton gins. Today it is a ghost town. 64
LOUIE WELCH: He was mayor of Houston from 1964-1974. An auto parts storeowner and real estate speculator, Welch was one of the more colorful of our mayors. His greatest accomplishment was insuring the city had ample water supplies to assure its continued growth. The signing of agreements with the Trinity River Authority in 1964 and the Lake Livingston project in 1973 achieved this goal. 65
LOUIS: (See Kneitz.)
LOUISIANA: Although we have streets named for 48 of our 50 states (no South Carolina or Maine), this one was named to honor a state toward which Texans felt a strong debt of gratitude. Louisiana Street remembers the four men from that state who died at the Alamo, including Jim Bowie. (See Caroline.) 66
LOURDES: Near the Fort Bend County village of Frydek is St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Like many Catholic churches it has quite a beautiful grotto. The street leading to it is named for one of the most famous grottos in the world, Lourdes. This small French town in the foothills of the Pyrenees is famous for the Marian apparitions of our Lady of Lourdes that appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. As a result the grotto there developed into a major Christian place of pilgrimage. Annually it is visited by some 5 million people. ( See Frydek.) 67
LOVE: See sidebar Tennis or Golf, Anyone?, page 348.
LOVETT: Robert S. – Many people believe this street is named for Dr. Edgar Odell Lovett, the Princeton University mathematician and astronomer who became the first president of Rice Institute (now University) in 1908. However, it actually recalls this early Houston attorney who resided at the corner of Main Street and Gray. He was a founding partner of the law firm we call today Baker & Botts. 68
LUBBOCK: Francis Richard – He was an early Houston resident who acquired a 400-acre ranch south of town for $0.75 per acre in 1846. Lubbock served as the chief clerk of the Texas House of Representatives during the Second Congress. Sam Houston appointed him comptroller of the Republic. He was a founder of the Democratic Party in Texas. Lubbock became governor of the State in 1861, winning the election by only 124 votes. He stepped down as governor to serve on General Jeb Magruder’s staff during the War Between the States. Eventually he became aide-de-camp to Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis. Following the War he opened a mercantile business in the city. In 1878 he won election as State Treasurer and served five terms in that position. Lubbock retired from public service at the ripe old age of 80. 69
LUCAS: James S. – This Englishman arrived in Houston in 1873. He owned James S. Lucas & Son, a construction company as well as a brick and cement manufacturing plant. His firm was the general contractor on the original Cotton Exchange building on Market Square. His residence on Chartres was unusual as it was built of bricks when most homes in Houston were wooden. 70
LUCKEL: L. C. – He was one of three surveyors who platted Katy, Texas. 71
LUCKENBACH: Jacob and August - German settlers arrived here in the 1840s. In 1886 postmaster August Engel named the place for these two brothers. The tiny town became known for its dance hall in the late 1800s. By the 1960s it was owned by one of August’s descendants, Benno Engel. He sold it in 1971 to the man who would put Luckenbach on the map, John Russell “Hondo” Couch. This colorful character was a friend of Texas redneck rock musician, Jerry Jeff Walker. In 1973 Walker recorded his album, Viva Terlingua, here. Waylon Jennings turned a cut, Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love) into a huge hit song in 1977. Willie Nelson held his Fourth of July picnic here from 1995 until 1999. The dance hall remains a favorite honky-tonk hangout for musicians and their fans. 72
LUELLA: Deer Park founder, S. H. West, named most of the early streets in this Ship Channel town. In this case the street recalls his youngest daughter. It is one of only three still on the map that he named. The other two are P and X Streets. Center was originally named West but changed later. The Shell Oil complex covers the majority of the early Deer Park streets. 73
LUTHE: O.– This gentleman was a dairy farmer in Aldine in the early 1900s. 74
LUTHERAN CEMETERY: This northwest Harris County road leads to the historic St. John Lutheran Cemetery. Founded in 1853 by settlers from Posen and Pomerania, Germany, it is still in use today. Other early area residents interred here include members of the following families: Kendig, Quade, Teske, Froehlich, Adam, Schuenmann and Zahn. A number of the gravestones here are written in German. Many contain the word mutter (mother) and the abbreviations geb. and gest. (born and died) followed by the respective dates. In 2002 the Texas Historical Commission placed a Historic Texas Cemetery marker here. (See Lutheran Church and Lutheran School.) 27
LUTHERAN CHURCH: This road will take you to Salem Lutheran Church. In 1852 German settlers in this area founded this church. The congregation initially met in members homes. In 1857 they erected a wooden church. Later they built a larger framed building. That structure burned to the g
round in 1964 and was replaced by the current facility. As late as 1930 services were conducted in German and the men sat on the left side of the nave with the women on the right. (See Lutheran Cemetery and Lutheran School.) 62
LUTHERAN SCHOOL: In about 1870 members of the Salem Lutheran Church established a parochial school in this area near the Salem Lutheran Church. (See Lutheran Church and Lutheran Cemetery.) 73
LYNBROOK: (See Chimney Rock.) 75
» LYNCHBURG: Early photograph of the Lynchburg Ferry crossing
LYNCHBURG: Nathaniel Lynch was the first American settler in the Houston area in 1822. His land was at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and the San Jacinto River. A town sprang up that was called Lynchburg and his ferry service plied the waters of the bays, bayous and rivers. Originally called “Lynch’s Ferry” today we know it as the Lynchburg Ferry, as in rush hour parlance, “There is a two car wait at the Lynchburg Ferry.” 76
LYONS: Michael Cusick – John and Michael Lyons were Irish immigrants who arrived in Houston at the end of the 19th century. John opened a saloon on the street whose name change in 1894 honored his brother. It is possible that Michael’s political connections, he was married to Mayor John Browne’s daughter Elizabeth, facilitated the name change. The street was previously known as Odin, for the first Catholic Bishop of the diocese of Galveston named John Mary Odin. It is possible the name may change again if the Fifth Ward Civic Association has its way. They are lobbying to call the thoroughfare Barbara Jordan Avenue. 77
ODD AND INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT OUR STREETS
There are over 40,000 streets in the Houston area with more added almost every day that the Planning & Development office is open for developers to file plats.
All of the streets in Southside Place Addition are in alphabetical order when read from south to north: Carlon, Darcus, Elmora, Farber, Garnet, Harper, Ingold and Jardin.
The Houston Chronicle says the name of our city, and therefore Houston Avenue, dates back to 1066. According to this legend, a Scottish knight named Sir Hugh fought valiantly at the side of William the Conquer at the Battle of Hastings, the most significant battle ever fought on English soil, on October 14, 1066. For his bravery Sir Hugh was given some land that he christened “Hugh’s Town.” Over the years the name became “Hughstown” and finally Houston. To what lengths we will go in an attempt to establish our blueblood pedigree.
Originally Houston streets running north and south were called “streets” while those going east and west were all “avenues.”
We no longer name streets for living people using their first and last names. We could have “unsinkable” Molly Brown street but not Mayor Bill White avenue. However, Planning & Development will allow the use of either the Christian or surname, in this case Bill or White, by themselves or in combination with another word, such as Mayorwhite.
You can give a street any name, no matter how dopey, as long as that name is not already taken.
One of the most difficult tasks to undertake is to persuade City Council to change the name of an existing street. It happens but rarely.
On July 15, 1853 an ordinance was passed prohibiting the discharge of “guns, rifles and pistols” in an area commencing at Lamar and Live Oak, over to Brazos, up to Buffalo Bayou, along the Bayou and back to Live Oak.
Five of the principal roads that led out of Houston in the 1800s still exist today: San Felipe (to Stephen F. Austin’s capitol), Washington (to Hempstead, Brenham and Austin), Montgomery (to Montgomery County), Liberty (to Liberty, Texas and eastward) and Richmond (to Fort Bend County).
Franklin was the first street to be paved with asphalt. This occurred in 1897.
While we name streets after many trees, Oak is the most common.
Houston’s first speeding ticket was issued to T. Brady for “fast driving” down Main Street on April 1, 1903. He was fined $10 for exceeding the 6-mile per hour limit.
According to the Houston Chronicle (2/17/1986), Mary Blazey was elected mayor of the smallest community in the Houston area in 1986. The area was confined to the one block long Chowning Road. 33
M
M. D. ANDERSON: In 1904 Monroe D. Anderson, his brother Frank and William L. Clayton incorporated Anderson, Clayton & Company. That firm became the largest cotton broker in the world and was the basis of Anderson’s wealth. In 1936 he founded the M. D. Anderson Foundation. Being a bachelor, his $20 million estate went to the foundation upon his death in 1939. The bulk of the funds went to establish the Texas Medical Center. One of the finest hospitals in the complex is named in his honor as well as this street. 1
» M.D. ANDERSON: M.D. Anderson in his cotton warehouse
M.A.S.: Named for real estate developer Melvin A. Silverman, this little street near the intersection of South MacGregor and State Highway 288 dead ends into H.M.C., named for another developer, H. M. Cohen. 2
MACARTHUR: Douglas – He was unquestionably one of America’s greatest military leaders. MacArthur was a very complex person: a military genius, highly intelligent (graduating 1st in his class from West Point), headstrong, flamboyant, fearless and controversial. There was a good reason he was known as the “American Caesar.” During World War I he was highly decorated for bravery, winning the Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Cross and seven Silver Stars. In World War II he commanded the U. S. Army forces in the Far East. President Harry Truman relieved MacArthur of his command in the Korean War in a dispute over policy. He will be remembered for two of his more famous quotes: “I shall return” on retreating from the Philippines in 1942 and “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away” from his farewell speech to the U. S. Congress. 3
MACBETH: In the east side neighborhood of Highland Estates there are several street names relating to Scotland. This Scottish king (1040-1057), who ascended the throne after killing his cousin Duncan, is most remembered as the focal point of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth. 4
MACEDONIA SCHOOL: (See Macedonia.)
MACEDONIA: This Waller County road remembers Macedonia Community that was located west of Tomball. It was established by German immigrants in 1878. A farmer and rancher, Heinrich Konrad Karl Leverkuhn, first named it Foresouth Prairie but later changed it to Macedonia Community. It once had a cotton gin, syrup mill, blacksmith shop, school, Methodist church and cemetery. The latter is all that remains. 5
MACGREGOR: Henry F. – He was a major influence at the Houston Post for many years. MacGregor, along with John Kirby, put up the land for St. Agnes Academy. He was one of the organizers of the Houston Symphony Association. He gave the city a park with a fountain, pool and sculpture on the corner of Main and Richmond. Little of the park remains today, but the statue of his wife Elizabeth Stevens MacGregor, nicknamed Peggy, has been restored and is located in MacGregor Park. Gutzon Borglum who later became famous for his monumental presidential busts on Mt. Rushmore did the sculpture in 1927. (See tombstone on page 205.) 6
» MACGREGOR: Borglum’s sculpture of Peggy
MACONDA: This tree-lined little lane in Royden Oaks is named for one of the three daughters of George R. and Alice Pratt Brown. In Joy Unconfined by Ann Hitchcock Holmes, Houston society portrait painter Robert Joy tells about a painting he did of young Maconda at the request of her parents. “The first attempt was abandoned. The second canvas was stretched over the first and a new portrait was completed, the first one forgotten. I was very surprised to learn it (the forgotten one) was hanging in the Ralph O’Connor residence (Maconda became Mrs. O’Connor). I was only paid for one portrait!” 7
» MACGREGOR: Henry and Peggy’s tombstone in Glenwood Cemetery
MACZALI: Years ago the Houston Fire Department asked Planning and Development to use this Hungarian surname to name a street in the southwest part of town. They wanted to use an uncommon name so they searched the phone book and found no other last names with only one listing. Later a firefighter named George J. Maczali saw the street on the map and searched out its provenance. He had a photograph of himsel
f taken in front of the sign. On a trip to Hungary to visit relatives he took the picture along to show them. 8
MADISON: James – The 4th President of the United States, Madison is remembered as the “Father of the Constitution” for his skillful structuring of that document at the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787. He was an author of the Federalist Papers and strong advocate of the Bill of Rights. The War of 1812 and the burning of the White House by British troops hurt his popularity but an improving economic climate revitalized his presidency. 9
MAGELLAN: Ferdinand – Located in the maritime themed neighborhood of Newport, this street honors one of the greatest seaman and navigators in history. Among his many accomplishments: he initiated the first circumnavigation of the world, discovered the Straits of Magellan, named the southern tip of South America Tierra del Fuego (because of the many fires he saw there) and named the Pacific Ocean. Magellan was born in Portugal in 1480. At 15 he joined the Portuguese navy where he excelled. In 1513 he had a falling out with King Manuel, renounced his citizenship and became a Spaniard. Charles V of Spain knew a good thing when he saw it and commissioned Magellan to sail around the world. His fleet of five ships departed August 10, 1519. It was a difficult expedition. Magellan was killed by islanders in the Philippines on April 27, 1521 but one ship limped home with a crew of 18 to complete the voyage. 10
MAGNOLIA: This town was settled in the 1840s and named Mink’s Prairie for an early settler, Colonel Joseph Mink. Soon it was shortened to Mink. In 1902 the International-Great Northern Railroad built a line through the town and changed the name to Melton. Jim Melton was a large land owner in the county. The post office felt it might be confused with Milton, Texas so it was renamed Magnolia for the thick stands of magnolia trees that lined the banks of Mill Creek. (See Melton.) 11
