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History on
a Pinhead
The
town had a post office from 1907 through the middle of the 1930s. With the development
of nearby Klein, Louetta declined – beginning in the late 1890s, although the
community still had two sawmills, a cotton gin, gristmill and a sugar / syrup
manufacturing company all operating around 1915.
As the Great Depression
was just getting started, only 15 residents were living in Louetta. After WWII
there was hardly anything left but the name and some tombstones.
Today
the Memorial Chase subdivision is near the old Louetta townsite. The name
lives on with Louetta Road – with hardly anyone knowing it was once more
than that. |
1920s
Harris County map showing Louetta N of Korville
(Above "A' in 'HARRIS')
Photo courtesy Texas General Land Office |
The "Lost" Towns
of NW Harris County:
Kohrville | Louetta
| North Houston | Satsuma
If
these are ghost towns, why are there so many people here?
Although
they now only exist as sign names at large intersections (Barker-Cypress, Bammel-North
Houston, Aldine-Bender, Alief-Clodine, et. al.). It may surprise non-natives that
all of these names once represented once struggling or proudly self-sufficient
towns. Even the inside-the-loop street of Crosstimbers was once a separate town.
While
most people associate ghost towns
with ruins and desolation - these ghosts live among us. Were aisles seven and
eight at your local HEB once a syrup mill? Was Radio Shack once a livery stable?
Best Buy a cornfield or cotton gin?
Are there unmarked graves under the
floor of your favorite Mexican restaurant?
The short answer is this: In
many cases these villages were already ghost towns - or so close to being ghost
towns that you could hardly tell the difference. Most had their life-blood drained
from them after WWII with
the migration of rural families to Houston.
The phenomenon was statewide. Dallas
and Ft. Worth have their fair
share of postwar "absorbed" ghost towns - as do smaller cities.
Then "Edge
City" happened. The relentless march of strip centers, subdivisions and gated
communities overtook these former towns until only the names and cemeteries remained.
While
the subject is worthy of further investigation (exactly where is the Lily White
cemetery behind Memorial City Shopping Center?), we're happy to include this topic,
made possible by generous grant of time, sweat and reseach by the Team
Rudine.
- Editor
"15
Minutes of Separation"
May 12, 2010 column | |
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