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HUMBLE,
TEXAS
Harris County,
Texas Gulf Coast
Hwy 59 and FM 1960
18 miles NE of Houston
Just East
of Houston Intercontinental Airport
Population 14,579 (2000)
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A
downtown scene
Photo by John Troesser, 9-4-04 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
The town was named after early settler Pleasant S. Humble,
who operated a ferry on the San Jacinto River before the Civil War.
Humble ran a commissary, cut timber into railroad cross ties and served
as a Justice of the Peace. In 1876 the town was a flag station on
the railroad.
Humble was on the Old Atascosa Road - a trade and cattle trail
that crossed the San Jacinto River at Humble, the Trinity River at
Liberty and the Neches at Beaumont.
The terminus was Opelousas, Louisiana.
By 1880 the population of Humble was a mere 60. Mill owner Charles
Bender purchased the townsite and established a commissary for the
lumber mill workers. He issued trade tokens to maximize profits. A
post office opened in 1886 and the next year Humble had a school,
two hotels, two stores, and the sawmill. In 1894 the existing railroad
was taken over by the Houston, East and West Texas Railway.
In 1904 oil was discovered in the area. The population soared to 10,000
and the following year the Humble oilfield was the largest field in
Texas. In1906, however, with reduced production, the population declined
to 7,500.
Ross S. Sterling, who founded Humble Oil in 1911, once operated a
feed store at Humble. His company relocated to Houston in 1912. An
oil well drilled in 1912 struck water and the hot sulphur artesian
water has been flowing ever since. A bathhouse was set up by a Mrs.
Mary Standley who charged .25 per bath (including soap). |
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The
artesian well - fast approaching its 100th birthday
Photo by John Troesser, 9-4-04 |
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The
well with Koi pond
Photo by John Troesser, 9-4-04 |
By
1914 the population of Humble had shrunk to only 3,000.
During World War I elements of the 19th Inf from Fort Sam Houston
were stationed at Moonshine Hill. The Moonshine Hill Road is ruputed
to be the oldest paved road in Texas. A reminder of WWI exists today
in the name of Belleau Woods Drive.
In 1918 a fire destroyed "several saloons, stores and a cafe." In
the 30s the population dropped to 1,500.
Hwy 59, which was begun in 1932 as a two-lane highway, was finally
opened in 1970 as the four-lane divided highway we know today. Humble
passed a city ordnance prohibiting saloons in 1936.
Prosperity returned when World War II brought workers back to the
oilfields. The population doubled, but increased mobility eventually
drained off people who chose to commute to Houston. The old city of
Humble has been preserved by antique dealers and store owners that
have kept the early commercial buildings intact.
Humble
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A
building in Old Humble
Photo by John Troesser, 9-4-04 |
Humble Attractions
& Recreation
Humble Historical
Museum - 219 Main Street
Mercer Arboretum
and Botanical Garden
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22306 Aldine Westfield Rd.
214 acre facility. Garden, arboretum, picnic areas, and nature trails.
Lake Houston
- FM 1960 East. Fishing and watersports.
Humble
Tourist Information
Humble Area
Chamber of Commerce
110 West Main Street, Humble, TX77338
281-446-2128
http://www.humbleareachamber.org/
Humble
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The Jewel
Theater
Photo by John Troesser, 9-4-04 |
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Humble People
Humble has a very entertaining history that was published in 1976
by the James Tull Chapter of the DAR. The book introduces readers
to colorful characters the type of which they just aren't making
anymore. Like Constable Marvin "By-Jingo" Winters, who was known
for his favorite exclamation and who died in 1937 directing traffic
on the new Hwy 59. Or Ed "Danger" Dangerfield Foltz who wore a Tom
Mix white Stetson and wore twin .45s. Also known as "Mr. Tough,"
Ed wore a blue serge suit (summer or winter) with the pantlegs tucked
into hightoped boots.
In the book Friend N. Kenyon wrote of his father, an early Humble
settler: "My father Thomas A. Kenyon was born in New York State.
He studied McGuffy's Reader and went through the same arithmetic
book over and over until he finished his schooling."
The book also mentions Vinny Baily - who was Humble's oldest resident
at the time of the book's publication. Born in the Rockwell-Caldwell
area in 1870, Vinny who gave birth to 11 children and outlived nine
of them, was 106 when she was interviewed.
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Humble
Fire
by Mike Cox
"...Hudson's enthusiasm for the oil business changed abruptly
on July 23, 1905. That evening, a thunderstorm triggered a bolt of
lightning that ignited the oil in one of the large tanks Hudson had
helped build. Sending billows of thick, black smoke high in the sky,
the fire spread quickly..." more
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The Humble water
tower as seen from the railroad tracks
Photo by John Troesser, 9-4-04 |
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