Historic Houston Streets

by Marks Hinton

  » SAMUEL DAMON: Tombstone and historic marker in Damon Cemetery

  BEASLEY-TAVENER: This Fort Bend County town was established along the Texas & New Orleans Railroad line in 1890. It is named for an area pioneer, Charley Tavener. (See Beasley-Damon.) 59

  BEAU GESTE: From the French meaning “magnanimous gesture,” this is Percival Christopher Wren’s novel about the three Geste brothers. Combining mystery, loyalty, a missing blue sapphire, the French Foreign Legion, an abusive sergeant and a battle against marauding tribesmen, the author created a marvelous story and a very enjoyable read. 60

  BEAUCHAMP: Thomas D. – An early settler in Harris County, he owned 50 acres north of town that possessed artesian springs. He would haul water to Houstonians who hated the taste of Buffalo Bayou water. The springs became known as Beauchamp’s Springs and a Confederate camp was established near them during the War Between the States. In April 1838 a new jail and courthouse were completed in downtown Houston and officials were determined that citizens show respect for these institutions. District Judge A. B. Shelby assessed fines to violators of the court’s dignity including one of $500 to Beauchamp for contempt. (See Artesian.) 61

  BEAUJOLAIS: This hilly Rhone region of France is famous for its fresh, light-bodied red wine. 62

  BEAUMONT: This highway leads to the county seat of Jefferson County. Beaumont was named either for James Beaumont, Chief Justice of Calhoun County, or for a hill southeast of town called Beau Mont in French, meaning beautiful mountain. The area was first settled in 1825 with the town being laid out in 1837. In 1901 one of the world’s greatest oilfields was discovered in nearby Spindletop. (See Spindletop.) 63

  BEAUREGARD: Pierre Gustave Toutant – This Louisiana native graduated from West Point in 1838. He served in the Mexican War where he was twice wounded. During the War Between the States General Beauregard fought at Manassas, Shiloh, Corinth, Charleston and Petersburg. Despite his diminutive size, his soldiers called him “Napoleon in Gray” and “the Great Creole.” Following the War he was named president of the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad, was adjutant general of Louisiana, manager of the Louisiana lottery and commissioner of public works for the City of New Orleans. 64

  BECKENDORF: This German family was a landholder around Bear Creek in west Houston. In 1945 the Beckendorfs and 40 other families were forced to move due to the construction of the Barker Reservoir, a flood control project in the watershed of Buffalo Bayou. They resettled near Tomball where family members are buried in the Beckendorf Cemetery. 65

  BECKER LINE: Boris Becker was the youngest tennis player, at only 17, to capture the men’s title at Wimbledon. This young German won Wimbledon three times (1985, 1986, 1989), the Australian Open twice (1991, 1996) and the U. S. Open once (1989). 66

  BEDFORD FORREST: Nathan – He is arguably the best general Robert E. Lee had during the War Between the States. Despite a lack of any formal education, this self-educated man is considered by experts to have been a military genius. Forrest was a brilliant cavalry tactician. He saw action at Chickamauga, Fort Pillow, Blue Cross Roads, Nashville and Selma. His most remarkable feat was the capture of an entire Union cavalry brigade at Rome, Georgia. Forrest was named president of the Selma, Marion & Memphis Railroad following the War. 67

  BEEBE: Howard Ward – This gentleman was instrumental in the incorporation of Bunker Hill Village in the Memorial area. Beebe was named the village city’s historian in 1991 due to his encyclopedic knowledge of the area. He was the founder and president of the Houston-based investment firm of Beebe & Lavalle. 68

  BEECHCRAFT: In 1932 Walter H. and Olive Ann Beech founded the Beechcraft Aircraft Corporation. Since producing the first model called the 17, Beechcraft has introduced the Twin Beech, trainers for fighter pilots during World War II, the Baron and the King Air. In 1980 the Company was acquired by the Raytheon Corporation. 69

  BEINHORN: William E. – This Memorial area street was named for a German immigrant who arrived in Houston in 1853 and acquired substantial land holdings in the area. 70

  BELKNAP COURT: Charles – Most likely this Sugar Land street recalls this early Texas pioneer and one of Stephen F. Austin’s Old 300 colonists. He was awarded a land grant in Fort Bend County in 1827. The 1826 census lists Belknap as a farmer and cattle rancher. After his death in 1829 his acreage was sold at public auction. 71

  BELKNAP: Sugar Land Industries owned Belknap Real Estate Development Company that was used to oversee their real property activities. Belknap developed Imperial Estates, Brookside, Belknap, Alkire Lake, Horseshoe Lake and Venetian Estates in the Sugar Land area. 72

  BELL OAKS: This Bellville street recalls the town’s founder Thomas Bell. He was one of Stephen F. Austin’s Old 300. Bell arrived in Texas in 1822 and settled in this area in 1838. 73

  BELL: Peter H. – Bell came to Texas to fight for independence. He saw action at San Jacinto. He joined the Texas Rangers in 1840 and fought with them in the Mexican War of 1845. Elected Governor, he served two terms (1849 and 1851). Bell resigned to fill the unexpired term of a U.S. Congressman. He fought in and survived the War Between the States and died at the ripe old age of 86. 74

  BELLAIRE: In 1908 a Burlington Railroad executive named William W. Baldwin purchased 9,449 acres southwest of Houston and named it Westmoreland Farms. He called the town at its center Bellaire. The name was thought to come from a marketing brochure that stated “The town is Bellaire (fine air), for Westmoreland Farms is fanned day and night by the cooling breezes of the Gulf of Mexico.” A 1910 advertisement describes the Boulevard as “a fine double road of white shell” and “Houston’s most popular driveway.” However, it is more likely Baldwin named it for Bellaire, OH, a town served by his Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. (See Westmoreland.) 75, 76

  BELLE: See sidebar Gone With the Wind Too Far, page 303.

  BELLINGRATH: See sidebar the Antebellum Streets of River Plantation, page 122.

  BELLMEADE: It is possible that this street is a misspelling of the name of the famous Belle Meade Country Club in Nashville, Tennessee, since so many other streets in River Oaks are named for exclusive golf clubs. Donald Ross designed the beautiful old moss covered anti-bellum style club’s golf course in 1901. 77

  BELLOWS: George F. and Ann – On June 9, 2000 he was honored with a street in the Texas Medical Center. He joined the board of Texas Children’s Hospital in 1967 and the TMC board in 1976. A tireless volunteer and benefactor, Bellows and his wife Ann presided over much of the growth of both of these organizations for more than a quarter of a century. 78

  BELL’S LANDING: Josiah Hughes Bell came to Texas with Stephen F. Austin in 1821. He was Austin’s second in command in the colony. He settled in what is today Brazoria County in 1824. Bell was a planter and built a plantation on the banks of the Brazos River. By 1829 Bell established a community nearby. First it was named Marion, then Bell’s Landing, Columbia and finally East Columbia. This landing became a very important port and trade center for the young Republic of Texas. Today the entire town of East Columbia is on the National Register of Historic Places and well worth a visit. 79

  » BELL’S LANDING: Historical marker in East Columbia

  BELMONT: Located in Belmont, New York, this thoroughbred racetrack is the home of the final race constituting the Triple Crown. The first leg is the Kentucky Derby, followed by the Preakness. Belmont opened in 1905. Five years later 150,000 people came to the track to see the Wright Brothers put on an international aerial tournament. 80

  BELMONT: See sidebar Tennis or Golf, Anyone?, page 348.

  BEN HUR: Lew Wallace wrote this biblical novel in 1880. It tells the story of Judah Ben Hur who is wrongly accused of a crime, enslaved by his Roman masters and achieves redemption in one of the most famous chariot races of all time. It was made into a movie in 1926 and again in 1959. 81

  BEN TAUB: He was a financier, philanthropist and World War I hero. Taub was instrumental in creating the University of Houston, contributing 35 acres of l
and in 1936 for its main campus. Concerned for the health of the poor, he was chairman of the original Jefferson Davis Hospital and was a driving force in the construction of the facility on Allen Parkway (demolished 1999). Taub was responsible for saving DePelchin Faith Home (now DePelchin Children’s Center) and amassing funds for construction of its campus on Sandman. Ben Taub General Hospital is named in his honor. 82

  BENDER: Members of this family were early landowners in the Humble, Texas area. Bender Street as well as Bender Square remembers these pioneers. Charles Bender owned a sawmill near Spring, Texas. He was known as the “Lumber Baron of Humble.” 83

  HOUSTON STREETS WITH HUMOROUS NAMES

  According to the City’s Planning & Development Department there are very few rules about naming streets. Basically as long as there is not another street with the name proposed on a developers plat or on a street that is going to have a name change, then a street can be called whatever the namer chooses. Department employees cannot ask the developer why he chose the street names he plans to use. As a result we can get some unusual monikers for our highways and byways. Over the years the Houston real estate development community has exhibited a great deal of humor when it came to christening our streets. From studying the numerous maps at Planning & Development as well as reading the index of the Key Map of Houston. We have chosen some streets just for their funny names. They are: Animal Cracker, Attaway, Betty Boop, Bittersweet, Boorstown, Bourgeois, Broken Glass, Carpet Bagger, Catbird, Chew, Chipshot, Clay Pigeon, Concrete, Crackerneck, Cry Baby, Easy, Ding-an-Sich, Far Fetch, Flintstone, Four Sixes, Generic, Glassblower, Go Man Go, Good Intention, Hades Ferry, Hardscrabble, Hazard, Hog Heaven, Hound Dog, Ice Palace, Igloo, Jaberwalky, Jury Rig, Kangaroo Court, King’s Ransom, Kissing Camel, Lazy, Mellow Brew, Memory Lane, Mexican John, Moe’s Place, Monkeyfist, Neon, North by Northwest, Okay, Old Token, Parcel Three, Proswimmer, Psuedo, Quark, Ram’s Bottom, Red-an-Gold, Restaurant Row, Rustler’s Way, Salty Dog, Sissy, Smokey the Bear, Snake Canyon, Sotired, Sweet Surrender, Tater Tot, Teddy Bear, Temperance, The Alley, Thirsty Fish, Trailer Park, Ubetcha, Wages, Wasp, West by Northwest, Whistling Dixie, Wicked Wicket, Wildoats, X Can and Yellow Jacket. 6

  BENFER: In 1845 a group of German immigrants settled along the banks of Cypress Creek near where Klein is located today. They were farmers and raised cotton, potatoes and corn among other crops. They sold their produce in Houston, a two-day trip by wagon in those days. The Benfer family was one of these pioneer settlers. Henry Benfer was a founding member of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Klein. A number of family members are buried in the church cemetery. 84

  BERING: August and Conrad – These two brothers emigrated from Kassel, Germany in 1842. They were on their way from Galveston to Fredericksburg when their oxen died in the Houston area. Cabinetmakers by trade, they set up shop here and went to work. Their business eventually expanded into lumber and hardware. That company still operates today under the ownership of the Bering family. The brothers began acquiring acreage west of the city and eventually owned about 2,000 acres of what is now Tanglewood and Briargrove. 85

  BERNARDO DE GALVEZ: This Spaniard was born in 1746. He chose a career in the military and was honored for his distinguished service to the royal crown. Galvez visited the New World for the first time in the 1760s. His assignment was to defeat raiding Apaches that were attacking Spanish outposts. By 1777 he was appointed Governor of Louisiana. He strongly supported the Americans during the Revolutionary War. He dispatched Jose de Evia, a surveyor and map maker, to chart the Texas coast. Evia named the largest bay Galvez in honor of his patron. However, Galvez died before he ever saw that body of water. Later the name was changed to Galveston. 86

  BERRY: James – This Kentucky gentleman came to Texas to fight for independence in 1836. He was a lieutenant at the Battle of San Jacinto. In 1840 Berry acquired some acreage in northern Harris County where this road is located. He entered politics and held the office of justice of the peace and treasurer of the county from 1845 until 1858. Berry Elementary School is also named for him. 46

  BERTNER: Dr. E. William – The Texas Medical Center has honored a number of important people associated with this complex with street names. This New York City physician was convinced to come to Houston by the wealthy tycoon Jesse H. Jones. His work at Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore resulted in him becoming one of the nation’s experts on cancer. So his association with the M.D. Anderson Hospital was only natural. In 1946 he was named the first president of the TMC. 87

  BERZIN: (See Bhandara.)

  BETHEA: Cecil G. – See sidebar Houston Streets Named for Men Killed During World War I, page 22. 88

  » BETTY BOOP: A cartoon character street sign

  BETHJE: Bertha – She was the wife of Anton Brunner who developed the Brunner Addition just east of Memorial Park. North Shepherd was once named Brunner. He was a German immigrant who was orphaned almost as soon as he arrived in Houston with his parents. Brunner went on to make his fortune in the shoe business and invested his profits in real estate. 89

  BETTY BOOP: She is a cartoon character introduced in 1931. Betty was a strip (no pun intended) for adults. In two of her early cartoons, “You’re Driving Me Crazy” and “Silly Scandals” her blouse kept falling down reveling her buxom chest in a lacy French bra. In 1933 the Hays Code of censorship for cartoons went into effect and Betty was morphed into a less vampish character. 90

  BEUTEL: Louis – He was a large landowner in the Spring Valley area. Beutel married the daughter of pioneer settler Wilhelm Rummel. His property was part of the Osborne Survey that consisted of tracts of land given by Sam Houston to soldiers who served in the Army of the Republic of Texas. (See Rummel.) 91

  BEVERLY: (See Marjorie, Bintliff and Sharpstown.)

  BEXAR: The presidio or mission fortress called San Antonio de Bexar and the town of San Fernando de Bexar were the original names for the area where San Antonio is today. 92

  BFI WHISPERING PINES LANDFILL ROAD: Named by the waste management company, Browning-Ferris Industries, this name is subtle corporate humor to lessen the impact of its ultimate destination - a huge garbage dump! 93

  BHANDARA: Fred – This real estate developer named most of the streets in Heritage Park West near Katy in 1994. Zubin and Berzin are his sons. Jessica and Zareen are his daughters. Bradley Luedecke is his godson and son of his business partner. Kenny Luedecke is also the son of his partner. Kyla Flueckiger is the daughter of another business associate. 94

  BIG LEAGUE DREAMS: This parkway leads to a sports complex of the same name in League City. The baseball parks here are scaled down versions of major league fields such as Fenway Park (Boston), Polo Grounds (New York) and Wrigley Field (Chicago). 95

  BIGELOW: Charles – He served as Houston’s fourth mayor in 1840-41. In that era railroad companies were the high technology businesses. Houston was awarded the charter for one of four rail lines to be built in the Republic of Texas. The Houston & Brazos Railroad Company was authorized to lay track from the city to the river. To celebrate this great event citizens, politicians, educators and preachers turned out. They walked the first nine miles of the proposed line where Mayor Bigelow broke ground for the construction. 96

  BINGLE: Charles Henry – He was an early resident of the Spring Valley area. 97

  BINTLIFF: David C. – Real estate developer Frank Sharp named this street for his friend David Bintliff. He was a well-known oilman, rancher and investor in the Houston area. (See Sharpstown.) 98

  BINZ: Jacob – A Chicago native, Binz built Houston’s first “skyscraper” in 1895. A Renaissance-and Romanesque-style structure at 513-19 Main Street, it cost $60,000. The Binz Building was the first in Houston to be built out of concrete, stone and steel. While the structure was six stories high plus a basement, architects said the foundation and superstructure could have supported a 20-story building. When it was opened, people came from miles around to ride its elevators to the top floor and admire the view of the surrounding countr
yside. The building was demolished in 1950. 99

  » BINZ: The Binz Building on Main Street

  BIRDIE: See sidebar A Neighborhood for Linksters, page 318.

  BIRDSALL: The Hogg family and their friends, Judge and Mrs. Frederick C. Proctor, hired Birdsall P. Briscoe and John F. Staub as associate architects to design their respective homes, Bayou Bend and Dogwood, which were next door to one another and shared a common driveway onto Lazy Lane. The architects divided the work between themselves: Staub designing Bayou Bend and Briscoe designing Dogwood. A plaque on the wall facing the Diana Garden at Bayou Bend memorializes this collaboration. 100

  BISSONNET: George Herman – This Houston native was a pilot in the U. S. Army Air Corps (predecessor to the U. S. Air Force) during World War I who, records indicate, was killed in a plane crash while training in Florida. The street has had three other names: County Poor Farm Road because it led to the Harris County Poor Farm, Richmond Road as it was the principal artery to the Fort Bend County seat of Richmond and 11th Street (on the early planning map of Southampton Place). 101

  BLACK GOLD: Located among a complex of petroleum services companies this name is slang for “oil.” 102

  BLACKBEARD: See sidebar Pirates of the Caribbean, page 280.

  BLACKSHEAR: William Newton and Hanna Elizabeth – Originally from Trinity County, the Blackshears arrived in the Willow Creek area in 1862 where they operated a general store. He became the first postmaster of Klein, Texas. (See Klein.) 103

  BLAHA: This short lane recalls another family of European immigrants who settled west of Houston in the 1800s. Some of the Blahas are buried in the Roberts Cemetery that is located just northeast of this street. (See Roberts Cemetery.) 104