by Marks Hinton
HOLMES: I. R. – (See La Porte and Lee.)
HOLY ROOD: The story behind this Memorial area street is very interesting. The old English word “rood” means “cross.” So this street is named for the holy cross Jesus was crucified upon. One of the earliest poems in the English language, possibly written by Cynewulf in the 8th century, is titled “The Dream of the Rood.” The plot tells of the crucifixion from the viewpoint of the cross. It is forced to be the instrument of Christ’s death. The cross suffers nail wounds, spear shafts and insults as did Jesus to fulfill God’s will.61
HOLY SEE: Also known as the State of Vatican City, this monarchical-sacerdotal state has the Pope as its chief executive officer. Established from former Papal States and given special status in Italy, it was granted independence in February 1929. This 44 square kilometer land-locked enclave is the world’s smallest state. For all the power it wields the Holy See has no pastureland, crops, arable land, woodlands, industry or military forces.77
HOLZWARTH: Many immigrants from Germany settled in the Spring, Texas area during the mid to late 19th century. A number of them are buried in the Budde Cemetery there including seven members of the Holzwarth family: Amelia, Charles, Christian, Katharina, Rosa, Matilda and William. (See Budde Cemetery.)78
HOMCO: Located in an industrial area on Houston’s east side this street is named for a manufacturing company that was once located on it. Houston Oilfield Materials Company was usually shortened to a combination of initials taken from the first letter of each word plus two from Company.79
HOMER: Contrary to what some of our school children might think this street is not honoring Homer Simpson of the Fox television show, The Simpsons. It is named for the 8th century B.C. classical Greek poet, author of the Odyssey and the Iliad.80
HONEA-EGYPT: (See Lake Conroe and Egypt.)
HOOVER: Herbert C. - This highly intelligent individual was the 31st President of the U.S. (1929-33). Unfortunately the stock market crash of October 1929 and the resulting Great Depression were blamed on him. Unable to do anything about the dire economic climate Hoover was crushed in the 1932 election by Franklin D. Roosevelt.81
HOPFE: One of many German immigrant families to arrive in our county in the 1800s, the Hopfes were landowners in the area near Tomball, Texas. Many of them are buried in Roberts Cemetery. (See Roberts Cemetery.)44
HOPKINS: Fred – See sidebar Houston Streets Named for Men Killed During World War I, page 22.
HORACE MANN: It is only appropriate that a street named for this American educator runs beside Lamar Consolidated High School in Rosenberg. Mann’s primary education was sparse but he was allowed to attend Brown University and was valedictorian of his class. He also earned a law degree. In 1837 he was hired as secretary of the newly created Massachusetts State Board of Education. He succeeded in improving teaching methods, raised salaries for teachers, upgraded schoolroom equipment and taught the practicality of coeducation.82
HORTON: Albert. – He was the first lieutenant governor of Texas and an early resident of Wharton.83
HORTON: The Hortons were early settlers of Guy. They operated a farm there. (See Old Guy.)84
HOSKINS: T. A. – He was a surveyor who practiced his trade near where Spring Valley is today in western Harris County. He did a survey here in 1846 and it is possible Hoskins street recalls this early Texan.85
HOSKIN’S MOUND: One of many salt domes along the Texas coast, the Freeport Company discovered oil and sulfur here while drilling the flanks of the formation in 1922.86
HOSPITAL: This short Tomball street led to the site of the city’s first hospital. This 16-bed facility cost $120,000 and opened in 1948. It closed in 1976 when a new hospital was constructed nearby. (See Carrell.)87
HOSPITAL: This street passes in front of the Angleton-Danbury General Hospital. This facility opened in 1969 and serves the citizens of Brazoria County.88
HOUSE HAHL: Pronounced “house haul,” this western Harris County road was the area’s thoroughfare with the fewest obstructions. As a result when a house was moved in this area this was the path taken. I can’t help thinking this story is apocryphal but my source swears to its validity.89
HOUSE: Joseph – Many of Stephen F. Austin’s second wave of colonists settled along the cool, spring-fed waters of Spring Creek in northwestern Harris County. In 1831 this gentleman was given a one-league land grant on that watercourse just north of where the town of Tomball is located today.90
HOUSMAN: Louis M. – This Spring Branch family donated land for a school. Today Housman Elementary School is located on this street. 91
HOUSTON CHRONICLE: Years ago the Houston Chronicle Publishing Company purchased a large tract of land on the west side of town with the idea of moving the newspaper’s production facility there. Management named the principal boulevard into the property for the paper. The story of the Chronicle’s founding is classic Houston lore. A cub reporter for the Houston Post was sent to Spindletop to cover the discovery of this giant oilfield in 1901. Marcellus E. Foster knew he was witnessing something huge and had a chance to get in on the ground floor. He invested his $30 weekly salary in a well. Two weeks later he sold his interest for $5,000. Returning to Houston he quit the Post and started the Chronicle. If nothing else Houstonians have always been entrepreneurial. 92
» HOUSTON CHRONKLE: Founder and publisher Marcellus E. Foster
HOUSTON NATIONAL: The Houston National Golf Club, a 27 hole public golf links, is at the end of this northwest Harris County road. 76
HOUSTON: Samuel – One of the most famous Texans of all time, Sam Houston was a frontiersman, politician, war hero, liberator of Texas, first president of the Republic of Texas, U.S. Senator and Governor of Texas.
» HOUSTON: Sam Houston monument in Hemann Park
HOUSTONIAN: No, this short street is not named for all of us. Rather it leads into the posh Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa in the Galleria area. Some of Houston’s wealthiest families’ homes were on this property in the 1950s and 60s before the Houstonian was constructed in this beautifully wooded glen. 93
HOWE: Milton G. – This gentleman came to Texas in 1859 from Massachusetts. He was a captain in the Confederate Army and devised the firing plan for Dick Dowling’s victory at the Battle of Sabine Pass in 1863. In civilian life he worked for the Houston & Texas Central Railroad. Howe was active in civic affairs and was elected a City of Houston alderman. (See Dowling.)94
HOWELL-SUGAR LAND: This area was granted to Samuel M. Williams in 1828. He raised sugar on his plantation. By 1858 the town of Sugar Land was well established. Between 1906-8 Isaac H. Kempner and William T. Eldridge had purchased most of the land in the area and created a company town for their Imperial Sugar Company. Additional labor was acquired from the nearby state prison farms. Needless to say the convicts were not crazy about working all day in the hot sun chopping cane and referred to the area as “Hell hole on the Brazos.” Urbanization occurred and the last sugar cane crop raised in Fort Bend County was in 1928. (See Addicks-Howell and Eldridge.)95
HUCKLEBERRY: (See Chimney Rock.)96
HUDSON CIRCLE & HUDSON PLACE: From the 1920s until the 1950s the area where these streets are located were way past the Houston city limit. In 1925 a local furniture store owner, E. A. Hudson, gave approximately 100 acres of this heavily wooded land to the Sam Houston Area Council of Boy Scouts. They in turn named the property Camp Hudson and used it for scouting activities and campouts. Urban sprawl eventually surrounded Camp Hudson so the Scouts sold the property in 1973 for development.74
HUECO TANKS: This historic state site is east of El Paso and is famous for its archeology. The three massive granite hills that rise 450 feet above the desert floor are known for their prehistoric Indian rock art. Hueco is the Spanish word for “hollows” that are located in the hills. Folsom projectile points found here indicate human inhabitation occurred here more that 10,000 years ago.
HUFFMAN: Roads emanating from this small east Harris County town are most likely hon
oring David Huffman who first settled in the region in 1839. The town later became a stop on the Beaumont, Sour Lake & Western Railroad. Huffman-New Caney road leads to the town of New Caney. It was originally called Presswood for early pioneers Austin and Sarah Presswood, who were cattle ranchers in the area in the 1860s. Postmaster James B. Robinson named it New Caney when the name Caney was already taken. The Huffman-Cleveland highway leads to the east Texas town of Cleveland. This community was founded in 1878 when Charles Lander Cleveland deeded 64 acres to the Houston, East & West Texas Railway who named the station after him. The Huffman-Eastgate road ran from Huffman to the small Liberty County town of Eastgate. It was named for its location at the east gate of the Beaumont, Sour Lake & Western Railroad yard.97
HUFFMEISTER: Members of this family were farmers in the Cypress, Texas area as early as the 1840s. In the 1980s the powers that be decided to honor some of the early German immigrants to the area with street names.98
HUFSMITH: Frank – He emigrated from Prussia, Germany as a young boy. Hufsmith arrived in Texas in 1887. The International-Great Northern Railroad employed him as the general superintendent. The I-GNRR Company owned a small railroad station that was located in the Tomball area. It was named in his honor in 1902 because of “his labor and dedication” to the rail line.99
HUGGINS: Joe – He was an early resident of Baytown.100
HUGGINS: John and/or E. M. – John moved to Fulshear in the 1850s from North Carolina. Huggins was a horse trainer and jockey at Churchill Fulshear’s stables. In 1901 he trained the first American horse to win the English Derby. E.M. was a rancher in Fulshear in the 1800s. (See Katy-Fulshear.)101
» HUGHES: Hughes family grave site in Glenwood Cemetery
HUGHES: Howard Robard – Born in Missouri in 1869, he intended to become a lawyer. However, when the Spindletop field was discovered near Beaumont he recognized the opportunity to establish himself in the oil drilling business. He and his partner, Walter B. Sharp attempted to drill some wells near Pierce Junction and Goose Creek, Texas but found the rock extremely hard and impenetrable. Hughes took some time off and developed the rock bit, a specially designed cone-shaped bit with tough steel teeth that could penetrate these hard formations. In addition it drilled 10 times faster than any previous technology. In 1909 the men organized the Sharp-Hughes Tool Company to manufacture the bit. It was the basis of the Hughes family fortune. He had one son, Howard R. Hughes Jr., the flamboyant aviator, playboy, movie director and investor. The plant, now called Baker-Hughes, is located nearby. ( See Sharp.)102
HUMBLE PLACE: This street and neighborhood recall Humble Oil & Refining Company (now Exxon Mobil). This oilfield theme carries to other streets. Roughneck is a member of a drilling crew. Rotary drilling is a method of making a hole that relies on the continuous circular motion of a bit to break rock at the bottom of the hole. Oil Derrick is a stationary tower capable of supporting hundreds of tons of oilfield drilling equipment over the bore hole. It is named for Thomas Derrick, an English hangman, who developed the gallows in Elizabethan times. 103
HUMBLE: Roads such as Humble-Westfield are named for the small Harris County town located approximately 20 miles north of Houston. It was named for its founder, Pleasant Smith Humble, a ferryboat operator, merchant, lumberman and justice of the peace. According to the Handbook of Texas, Humble was called “Rabbit” in 1876 because train passengers would shoot long-eared hares when the train stopped at this station on its route between Houston and Beaumont. The Humble Oil & Refining Company (now Exxon Mobil) took its name from this town following a gigantic oil discovery here in 1905. 104
» HUMBLE: Humble Oil tanker truck
HUMBLE: This Baytown street recalls the Humble Oil & Refining Company. The firm was organized in 1911 by some of Texas’ most famous oilmen including W. W. Fondren, Ross S. Sterling, W. S. Farish and R. L. Blaffer. The company did have a small refinery in Humble, Texas early on. Humble was the largest domestic producer of oil during World War II. (See Fondren, Ross Sterling and Humble.),105
HUNTER: Johnson – This doctor was one of the earliest settlers in the Baytown area, arriving from Missouri in 1822. In addition Hunter traded with Indians, farmed, ranched and surveyed. In 1829 he sold his land known as Hunter’s Point and disappeared into the mists of history. 35
HUNTER’S CREEK: This Memorial area village and street recall the days when this place was a hunter’s paradise. Early residents hunted a variety of wild game and birds before the village became “gentrified.”106
HUNTINGTON: River Oaks Corporation vice president Herbert A. Kip named this street after his wife’s Pennsylvania hometown.107
HURTGEN FORREST: Located near Aachen, the first German town to be captured by the Allies in WW II, these woods were the site of a major battle during November-December 1944.108
HUTCHENS: The 200-acre Hutchens Research and Experimental Farm is part of the Wharton Junior College Campus. 109
HUTCHESON: Joseph Chappell – A native of Virginia, this attorney moved to Houston in 1874. He was elected to Congress in 1892 and served until 1897. Among his accomplishments while in Washington D. C. was to seek federal funding for a deep water port in Houston. The Hutchesons lived in a beautiful home on the corner of McKinney and LaBranch. 110
HUTCHINGS: John Henry – Born in North Carolina in 1822, he arrived in Galveston in 1845. Two years later he formed a partnership with John Sealy. In 1854 they joined George Ball to found the banking firm of Ball, Hutchings & Company (later Hutchings-Sealy National Bank). Hutchings was a Galveston alderman (1859-60) who worked to have a bridge built connecting the Island to the Mainland. During the War Between the States he served as a judge in the Confederate States court system. Following the conflict he was named president of the Galveston Wharf Company. He also invested in insurance, manufacturing, railroads and cotton oil firms. 111
HUTCHINS: William J. – He moved to Texas in 1838 from Florida. He was initially involved in banking and merchandise but became most active in railroading. He was a founder of the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado Railroad and bought the Houston & Texas Central Railroad. He was elected an alderman in Houston and was mayor in 1861. 112
HYDE PARK: This Montrose Addition street is named after the famous London, England park where King Henry VIII hunted deer and wild boars after its creation in 1536. 113
HYDRO-55: This oddly named little industrial boulevard is named for the tank farm and fueling station located on it that is owned by Palm Petroleum. 114
I
IGLOO: Houston is a strange place to find a street with this name until you realize it is not named for the Eskimo home but instead for the manufacturer of Igloo coolers. The company’s manufacturing plant is at the end of it. This product is so popular that surveys show three out of every four American homes own at least one Igloo cooler.1
IMPERIAL: The Imperial Sugar Company (not its original name) has operated in the same location since 1843. In 1906 Isaac Kempner and William Eldridge began acquiring sugar plantations near what today is Sugar Land, Texas. By 1908 they had amassed considerable acreage, sugar mills and refineries and gave the business its present name. In the beginning Sugar Land was the classic company town with Imperial owning it lock, stock and barrel. (See Eldridge and Kempner.)2
INCH: Old hands at Planning and Development still laugh about how this street was named. The developer came in to file his plat. All of the streets except one were named. Since a plat must be complete to be recorded, the land developer measured the street with a handy ruler. Since it was an inch in length and was a cross street that would have no addresses (buyers get testy if the street they live on has a funny name) it was christened Inch.3
INGOLD: Southside Place developer Edward Crain originally called this street Ingram, honoring his favorite Hill Country town. It was probably misspelled on the plat. 4
INKS LAKE: See sidebar The Most Scenic Spots in Texas, page 310.
INSTITUTE: Rice University was initially named Rice Institute. This shady l
ane recalls this venerable institution of higher learning’s name as given it by the estate of the founder, William Marsh Rice. (See Rice.)
» INTERURBAN: The “Interurban” going to Galveston
INTERURBAN: On December 5, 1911 the Galveston-Houston Electric Railway commenced operations. This electric train offered commuter service between these two cities. Called the “Interurban,” passengers paid $1.25 for the one hour and forty minute ride. The line was very popular due to its fast and frequent service. Unfortunately, the train’s owner fell on hard times during the Great Depression and filed for bankruptcy. The Interurban made its last run in 1936. 5
INVERNESS: The Inverness Golf Club is located in the Scottish Highlands. This old course is famous for its extremely difficult 475-yard dogleg 14th hole. There is another possibility for this street. According to information from Robin Elverson Realtors, it was named for the Toledo, Ohio country club made famous for first allowing professional golfers to enter the front door of the facility, use the locker rooms and eat at the restaurants during the 1920 U.S. Open Golf Tournament. 6
INWOOD: The Inwood Country Club is located on Jamaica Bay in the New York town of Inwood. The course here hosted the 1921 PGA championship and the 1923 U.S. Open. The 10th hole, a 106-yard 3 par, is the shortest hole ever played in U.S. Open history. 7
IOWA SCHOOL: This road once led to the Iowa Colony School. Iowa Colony was founded in 1908 by the Immigration Land Company of Des Moines, Iowa. Two officers, G. I. Hoffman and Robert Beard, named the town. Originally it was rice farming country but by the 1970s developers turned it into a bedroom community of Houston. 8
IRON LIEGE: This long-shot winner of the 1957 Kentucky Derby (he paid $18.80) was the beneficiary of one of the greatest mistakes in the history of the Run for the Roses. Gallant Man was in the lead when jockey Billy Shoemaker misjudged the finish line and stood up in the irons. That was all the time needed for rival Bill Hartack on Iron Liege to win by a nose.9