by Marks Hinton
» ROSENBERG: This statue is made from melted pennies gathered by Galveston children
ROSHARON: Settlers arrived in northern Brazoria County in the 1850s. In 1859 George Wetmore Colles, a major landowner, named the town Rose of Sharon Garden Ranch after the Cherokee roses that grew in the area. He also named his plantation the same. Colles also designed the community water system. When the post office opened in 1912 the name was shortened to Rosharon. This community has been the rice bowl of coastal Texas for decades. 82
ROSILLE: Rosille Myers was the wife of a Baytown mayor. 83
ROSS STERLING: He was a classic Houston entrepreneur. Sterling got into the oil business in 1903. In 1910 he bought two oil wells that became the Humble Oil and Refining Company (Exxon Mobil today). He sold out in 1925 and bought the Houston Post (former morning newspaper) in 1926. In 1930 he was named chairman of the Texas Highway Commission. A year later he was elected governor of Texas. 84
ROSSLYN: This early German settlement was located on Houston’s outskirts near White Oak Bayou. Some early settlers referred to the village as White Oak due to its proximity to the Bayou. Rosslyn was a station on the Trinity & Brazos Railroad. It was still listed on Texas highway maps in the 1930s but has long since been swallowed by Houston.85
ROTHKO: Mark – He is one of the greatest abstract expressionists in the history of American painting. His use of color is amazing. You can track his downward emotional spiral and eventual suicide through the use of darker and darker colors. Visit the Rothko Chapel, 1409 Sul Ross at Yupon, to see some of his finest works displayed in Philip Johnson’s marvelous sacred space. 86
» ROTHKO: Rothko Chapel with Barnett Newman’s Broken Obelisk in reflecting pool
ROUGHNECK: This is the name of a person who works on a drilling rig. Other positions on the rig include driller, tool pusher, roustabout and company man.
ROY BEAN: Known as the “Law West of the Pecos,” Judge Bean administered justice from the front porch of his saloon in Langtry, Texas. He was a real character. While some of the stories about the judge are likely mythical, they remain amusing. He claims to have named his town after the English actress Lily Langtry. He once fined a dead man $40 for carrying a concealed weapon and staged a heavyweight-boxing match on a sand bar in the Rio Grande River because Texas, Arizona and New Mexico prohibited the bout. 87
ROY HARRIS: Born in 1933, this boxer from Cut and Shoot, Texas, fought Floyd Patterson for the heavyweight championship in 1958. He lost the bout on a TKO in round 13. Later he was KOed by Sonny Liston. He retired from the ring with a 31-5 record and went to law school, thus becoming the first heavyweight to practice law. Harris served as a county clerk of Montgomery for 28 years. His hometown got its name from a dispute over who could preach in the town’s only church. An argument turned ugly between the Baptists and an apostolic minister. A fight seemed inevitable. A young boy said “I am scared! I am going to “cut” around the corner and “shoot” through the bushes.” And the town was born. Locals say Cut and Shoot is where the “men are tough, the horses are swift, the women are soft and we take a bath every Saturday night whether we need one or not.” 88
ROY: Eliza – John Reinermann was an active surveyor in this area near Memorial Park between 1857 and 1888. He had been awarded a land grant here in 1847. In 1881 and again in 1886 Roy purchased land in the area. Since this street parallels Reinermann I suspect it was named for Roy. 89
ROYAL: See sidebar Laissez les bon temps roulez (Let the good times roll), page 188.
RUDEL: Christian – Originally from Wittenberg, Germany, this blacksmith set up shop near Tomball in 1865. The Rudel family were early members of the Salem Lutheran Church in Rosehill, Texas’ earliest Lutheran congregation. 90
RUEBEN WHITE: This early settler was born in Louisiana in 1795. White was a U. S. Army captain and fought in the War of 1812. He and his family moved to Texas in 1824 as one of Stephen F. Austin’s Old Three Hundred. He received a league of land on the east bank of the San Jacinto River where this street is today. The Atascosito Census of 1826 lists him as a farmer and stock raiser. 91
RUFFIAN: She may have been the greatest thoroughbred mare to ever set foot on a track. In 1974 and 1975 she ran off ten wins in ten starts. Then on July 6, 1975 she was matched against Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure. During the race she shattered her ankle and despite great efforts to save her she was put down at about 2 AM the next morning. Ruffian is buried at Belmont Park with her head pointed toward the finish line. (See Belmont.) 92
RUMMEL CREEK: – (See Rummel.)
RUMMEL: Wilhelm – He was one of the earlier settlers in the Spring Branch area. He named Rummel Creek, a stream that ran through his property. Rummel was also a founding member of St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (now St. Peter’s United Church of Christ) in 1850. 93
RUNAWAY SCRAPE: This event was one of the most ignominious events in Texas history and makes one wonder why a developer would name a street after it. In April 1836, Santa Anna was advancing unchecked across Texas toward Harrisburg following his victory at the Alamo. Government officials of the Republic of Texas took flight. The Secretary of State went to the United States. The Navy Secretary fled to Galveston. Civilians took note and began to retreat as well. This mass exodus continued until word of Santa Anna’s defeat at the Battle of San Jacinto reached them in Louisiana. At that point the refugees began the trek back to their hometowns. This road recalls the trail that led down Buffalo Bayou to Lynch’s Ferry at the San Jacinto River, northeast to Liberty, Texas and finally to Opelousas, Louisiana. 94
RUNNELS: Hiram George – Indian fighter and one-term governor of Mississippi, he moved to Texas in 1842 and started a cotton plantation on the Brazos River. Runnels was a significant landowner in what later became Houston’s 2nd Ward. He died in Houston in 1857. Runnels County is named in his honor. 95
RUNNY MEADE: In this meadow on the Thames River on June 19, 1215 King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta, a document guarantying the political and civil liberties of the English people. It represents one of the greatest moments in Western Civilization. It’s too bad the developer of the Meyerland area neighborhood spelled the name incorrectly. It’s Runnymede. 96
RUSK: Thomas Jefferson – He arrived in Texas in 1832 in hot pursuit of a gang of con artists who absconded with some of his money. It is not known if he found them and recouped his investment. However, Rusk liked Texas and stayed. He signed the Declaration of Independence from Mexico. Elected Secretary of War in 1836, he fought with Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto. In 1838 he was a founder and second vice-president of the Houston Jockey Club. Rusk County was named for him in 1843 and the town of Rusk in 1846. After Texas annexation by the United States he and Sam Houston were elected our first U.S. Senators in 1846. Rusk served in that august body until his death. He and General Sam Houston often made public addresses from the pulpit of one of the three churches in Houston at that time (Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic). Depressed over the death of his wife, Rusk committed suicide in Nacogdoches in July 1857. 97
RUSKIN: John – This English writer and critic was born in London in 1819. In his early years Ruskin was a lost intellectual soul trying his hand at poetry, art and architecture before discovering his true talent – social commentary. He spent the last 40 years of his life writing about social and industrial problems, education, morality and religion. Much of his philosophy is summarized in an 1862 publication Unto This Last. 98
RUSSELL: Charles E. – See sidebar Houston Streets Named for Men Killed During World War I, page 22.
RUSSET: (See Chimney Rock.) 99
RUTGERS: This was the eighth college in colonial America, receiving its charter from King George III. It was renamed in 1825 after Col. Henry Rutgers, a major benefactor. It became the state university of New Jersey in 1946. 100
RUTHVEN: A. S. – He was an early railroad man. Ruthven was involved in the founding of the Houston & Texas Central Railroad. This Houstonian made his fortune
in the insurance business. As president of the Southern Mutual Life Insurance Company he was the first in his field to sell insurance policies to slaves. This was unheard of in 1850. The Democratic Telegraph & Texas Register called him “distinguished for accurate business habits, strict integrity and great discernment.” 101
RUTLAND: This village is the geographic center of Massachusetts and the hometown of some of the original investors in Houston Heights. The land was purchased from natives in 1686 but not settled until 1719. Rutland suffered from Indian attacks until 1724 when a peace pact was signed. Today the only buffalo herd in the Boston area is located here. 102
» RUTLAND: This Houston Heights house was originally owned by that community’s blacksmith
WEDDING BELLS IN THE WOODLANDS
Susan Vreeland-Wendt, Director of Marketing for The Woodlands Development Company, has named over 1,600 streets in her 25 year career in real estate development. When she needed to name the streets in the Carlton Woods area of The Woodlands she must have been thinking of new brides who would be choosing their sterling silverware patterns. As a result almost every street in this neighborhood recalls a famous silverware. Included are: Silver Iris Way, Angelique Way, Frontenac Way, Grand Regency Circle, Eloquence Way, Hepplewhite Way, Damask Rose Way, Baronial Circle, Fleury Way, Grand Colonial Way, Carlton Woods Drive, Golden Scroll Circle, Lamerie Way, Margaux Way and Provence Circle. (See Chantilly and Nina Lee.) 44
S
SABINE: This street is named to remember Dick Dowling’s victory over the Union Navy at Sabine Pass on the Sabine River on September 8, 1863. In this 45 minute engagement the Confederates, with only six cannons and 42 men, captured 2 steamers and 315 Northern troops. Union General William B. Franklin ordered the 18 other vessels and 4,500 soldiers to retreat to New Orleans. This ignominious defeat earned Franklin the dubious honor “of being the first American general … who managed to lose a fleet in a contest with land batteries alone.” (See Dowling and Colorado.) 1
SADDLEBROOK: The Detering families were large landowners in Harris County. Among the properties they held was a horse farm on the Harris-Fort Bend County line in west Houston. When they decided to develop this piece of acreage Carl Detering Sr. named many of the streets to start with the word “saddle.” Thus we have Saddle Spur and Saddle Horn Trail as well as Saddlebrook combined with North, South, Court and Way. (See Detering.) 2
SAGE: Charles – This Tanglewood area street is located in a former land grant given to Sage by Republic of Texas President Anson Jones in 1845. 3
SAKOWITZ: Simon and Tobias Sakowitz opened a dry goods store in Galveston in 1902. Because of the ever-present danger of hurricanes in the island city they moved to Houston and opened a store in the Kiam Building. A son, Bernard, who had worked at Macy’s in New York City returned home and took over the family business in the 1930s. Bernard’s son Bobby, nicknamed the “Merchant Prince,” ran the department store chain during the oil boom and bust of the 1970s and 80s. 4
SALT GRASS TRAIL: This is the oldest of the trail rides that come into Houston just before the start of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo each February. Founded in 1953 by Pat Flaherty, Reese Lockett, Emil Marks and John Warnasch, the first ride had less than 100 participants versus thousands now. The 7-day, 70-mile ride goes from Brenham, Texas to downtown Houston where it forms the start of the Rodeo Parade. (See Marks.) 5
SAM HOUSTON: (See Houston.)
SAM RAYBURN: Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn was born in Tennessee in 1882. Five years later the family moved to a 40-acre farm in Fannin County near Bonham, a town that he would call home for the rest of his life. In 1906 he won a seat in the Texas House of Representatives thus launching his long political career. Rayburn was reelected twice. In 1912 he was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives. His tenure of 48 years of continuous service is unprecedented in American history. Rayburn held the Speaker of the House title under every Democratic controlled Congress until his death in 1961. 6
SAMPRAS ACE: Pete Sampras is one of, if not the best American to ever pick up a tennis racquet. He was the youngest man to win the U.S. Open. He has won 14 Grand Slam titles including the U. S. Open (1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2002), Wimbledon (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002) and the Australian Open (1994, 1997). 7
SAMPSON: Henry – Most likely this street is named for an early settler who operated as a general commission merchant. He lived at 1104 Preston, across from Courthouse Square where the Harris County Courthouse is today. The Sampsons were quite prominent socially and the exclusive ZZ Social Club was founded in their home in 1868. 8
SAMUEL ADAMS: An American patriot, Adams was involved in the Boston Tea Party, signed the Declaration of Independence and fought in the Revolutionary War. He served in the Continental Congress and was eventually elected governor of Massachusetts. 9
SAN BERNARD: This river rises near New Ulm in Austin County and flows 120 miles to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico. In 1929 the Texas Gulf Sulfur Company erected a dam on the river to form the Newgulf Reservoir, a 2,150 acre-feet lake used by the company for municipal water and irrigation of their company town at Newgulf. Legend says for over 100 years people near the river have heard a violin playing, earning the San Bernard the nickname of “Singing River.” (See Newgulf Access.) 10
SAN FELIPE ROAD: This was the route from Harrisburg in eastern Harris County to Stephen F. Austin’s colony at the town of San Felipe on the Brazos River. Listed on early maps as Route Number 6 by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, commissioner of the Association for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas, the Prince set the distance at 49 miles and noted the lack of water between Houston and Piney Point (now one of the Memorial Villages) 10 miles to the west. 11
SAN JACINTO: Named for the final battle of the Texas Revolution on April 21 of 1836, it was here that Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna in an 18-minuite skirmish that won Texas her independence from Mexico. 12
SAN LEON: Located on a 5,000 acre peninsula surrounded by Galveston, Trinity and Dickinson Bays, this fishing and shrimping community began as Edward’s Point in the late 1800s. The name was changed to North Galveston when the North Galveston, Houston & Kansas City Railroad began here. In 1912 a real estate speculator named Thomas B. Brian bought the town. As a marketing ploy he threw in a free grave site with each lot purchased. Joe Vega was the town’s next owner and he held a contest to rename it. San Leon won. This peninsula has been a historically interesting site for centuries. Karankawa Indians had a campsite here and the pirate Jean Lafitte used it as a base. Unfortunately in 2008 San Leon suffered devastating damage from Hurricane Ike. (See Jean Lafitte and Karankawas.) 13
» SAN LEON: Hurricane Ike destroyed much of this Galveston Bay village in 2008
SAN LUIS PASS: (See Termini-San Luis Pass.)
SAN ROCCO: See sidebar Neighborhoods with Interesting Street Names, page 104.
SAN SABA: In Texas we have a town, a river and a county with this name. Yet there is very little of historic significance that has happened in this agricultural area. This may be why this street, at just one block long with no addresses on it, merited its name. 14
SAN SOUCI: This means “carefree” in French.
SANDERS: William L. – See sidebar Houston Streets Named for Men Killed During World war I, page 22.
SANDPIT: Sand is an important ingredient in construction materials. It is often mined along the bank of a watercourse. In this case this road leads toward a sandpit adjacent to Willow Creek near Tomball, Texas. I doubt the pit I found is the original one this road led to as sandpits like any other type of mining operation tend to play out over time. I expect the original site was west of the current location. (See Willow Creek.) 5
SANDRINGHAM: This English village is home to the 19,500 acre royal estate of the same name. Acquired in 1861 for the Prince of Wales it has been used mostly by the royal family and their guests for partridge hunting. 15
SANDY POINT: This small farming community is near the entrance to the Darrington
Prison Farm. Founded in 1854 the cemetery has graves of soldiers from the Texas War of Independence, Mier Expedition and the War Between the States. Originally the area was used for cotton and sugar cane production as it was dotted with plantations. Those crops eventually gave way to cattle ranches and rice fields. It is thinly populated today. (See Darrington.) 16
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
The Galveston Island city of Jamaica Beach was founded in 1956 and incorporated in 1975. Developers named the streets for some of the bloodiest pirates in the history of the high seas, the great pirates of literature as well as Buccaneer and Jolly Roger. Residents here live on Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, Captain Hook, Jean Lafitte, John Davis (the alias of Robert Searle), Henry Morgan, (Edward) Mansvelt, Francis Drake and John Silver. And the famous mutineer Fletcher Christian of HMS Bounty fame is thrown in for good measure. I imagine Captain Blight references William Bligh who was captain of that ill fated ship. We only lack the most famous pirates of the Caribbean in this day in age – Captain Jack Sparrow of the Black Pearl and Jimmy Buffet (A Pirate Looks at 40). Maybe Jamaica Beach Public Works will cut new streets in their honor. 3
SANTA ANITA: This is the premier horse race track in California. It is the home of one of the top prep races prior to the Kentucky Derby. Run in early April the Santa Anita Derby has sent a number of horses to Louisville who “won the roses” including Majestic Prince, Affirmed and Sunday Silence. (See Affirmed and Majestic Prince.) 17
SANTA FE: Located 16 miles northwest of Galveston, this town was named for the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad that was laid here in 1877. Santa Fe incorporated in 1978 and began to grow. By the 1980s the town had absorbed Arcadia and Alta Loma. (See Old Arcadia.) 18
SANTA FE: This rail line was chartered in 1867 as the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. By the early 1890s, its 9,000 miles of track and connections extending from Chicago to Los Angeles ranked it as one of the world’s longest railroads. In 1995 it merged with the Burlington Northern RR and is know today as the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe” became a popular song recorded by swing artist Johnny Mercer. In 1946 it won an Oscar for “best song in a movie,” The Harvey Girls. 19