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History
in a Pecan ShellThe
community dates from 1915 when Houstonian Charles Bammel and his business partner
built the “Bammel and Kuehnle Merchandise Store.” In 1916 there were enough residents
to request a post office – and one was opened inside the store with Herman Kuehnle
as postmaster.
The store burned in 1927 but was soon rebuilt. The post
office, however, closed in 1929. Prior to 1929 there are no population estimates
but 1929’s rough estimate was about 50 people.
In 1938 there was an oil
discovery which boosted the population to 200 by 1943. But the proximity to Houston
left only 20 residents by the end of that decade.
The town has since been
absorbed by Greater Houston. |
Where
Bammel once was
Photo courtesy Ken
Rudine, May 2010 |
Photographer's
Note:THE ROAD TO
BAMMEL, TEXASThe
sprawl of an urban metropolis, as in other states, gobbles up outlying communities
making them invisible. Circling Houston's northwest quadrant, the towns of Satsuma,
North Houston, Kohrville, Klein, Westfield and
others have disappeared during the last 30 years like persons who stepped in quicksand.
As for Bammel, I have been to a favorite restaurant there many times; although
I was unaware I was in the former town.
Bammel’s GPS location shows it
as being in the intersection of FM1960 & Kuykendahl. A bridge over Kuykendahl
at this intersection was recently completed to relieve traffic congestion. I had
hoped that a current view of where Mr. Bammel’s store was located might be a window
into the past.
Looking for remnants, accidentally on purpose, we arrived
at our destination much like a circling buzzard finding road kill. I got out of
our car with my white Stetson on, partially to protect me from the bright sunlight
and partially to be seen.
I began to compose a photo of the intersection.
Immediately I could tell I needed a higher angle of view and it would be more
colorful if I made it at dusk when the lights would be on. I was still looking
to improve the scene when I noticed two white cars pull off Kuykendahl a few feet
in front of me.
The first car had a man and a woman in it, but the second
had only one man who looked like he may have been a drug lord. The occupants of
both cars gave me a good looking-over. I glanced behind me to see that my wife
had moved our car forward to close the gap between us providing a refuge if needed.
Over the last 30 years, FM1960 (formerly Jack Rabbit Road), has been developed
to the nth degree, but now it is well along into a decline.
Regardless
of my perceived threat from the second 2nd car, it moved on in the strip center
out of sight. The car with the man and woman though made a gentle circle and approached
me on the passenger side. I judged them to be upright citizens. As the car rolled
to a stop, the seventy-five year old lady rolled down her window. The driver was
probably her son, which I judged to be in his mid-fifties.
"Are you here
photographing the traffic light” she asked? I told her no, I was recording the
current location scene of where Mr. Bammel’s store had historically been located.
She said "Oh, yes, Bammel's store". At this point her son chimed in, too. "That’s
right, it was right here. I thought you might be timing the traffic light since
the caution light is really short sometimes." She stated that she had spoken to
a man who hated those traffic cameras and if he was to get a ticket he wanted
it to come from an officer not a machine.
On today’s trip, she found out
that this intersection's cameras were not the ticket issuing kind. I found there
are roads to Bammel but no signs tell you when you arrive.
- Ken
Rudine, May 08, 2010 | |
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