In April 1836 Sam Houston’s Texas Army won independence from Mexico in the Battle of San Jacinto, and the Texas Republic was formed. This made Sam Houston a hero across the new republic, and brothers Augustus and John Allen wasted no time getting in on the act. The Allen brothers had  lived in the Texas border town of Nacogdoches where they got to know Sam Houston. They planned to use their links with him and his hero status to make money. Barely 4 months after the Battle of Jacinto they bought 2,685 hectares (6,642 acres) of land on Buffalo Bayou and were planning a settlement named ‘Houston’ on the land.  Not only would the name help to sell plots of land, but with Sam Houston the first President of the Texas Republic, the brothers had little doubt that the town of  Houston would be made the capital of Texas. The great man supported the idea, but it was a battle that he lost and Austin became  capital instead. Despite this, the settlement thrived initially as an inland port then the railroads arrived and they fuelled even greater growth. Despite this rapid growth, Houston could not match the prosperity of  nearby Galveston until in 1900 the latter was largely destroyed by a hurricane.  The following year oil was discovered near Beaumont and it was Houston rather than Galveston that was in a position to reap the rewards. Today Houston is still a major centre for the energy industry and it is also famous for its Space Center. 

Harris County Court House

The Allen Brothers plans for Houston designated a site for a County Court House and the first one built on the site was a two-story pine log building completed in 1838. In 1844 with the building was in poor condition, the Allen Brothers claimed it as their property and moved it to another site. From then until 1851 court sessions had to be held in hotel rooms.  A two storey brick court house was completed on the site in 1851 but by 1860 the walls had developed major cracks and it had to be demolished and work began immediately to build its replacement. Unfortunately, the Civil War intervened so the part completed building was used for military purposes and after the war it was in poor condition and was demolished in 1869. A three storey court house was completed in 1889 but like its predecessors it deteriorated and by the early 20th century  it had been condemned and demolished. At the fifth attempt they got it right. Construction of the current Harris County Court House began in 1909 and it was completed in 1910.  It soon became too small and in 1938 it was only saved from demolition because the attempt to raise funds failed. Nowadays criminal and civil cases are heard in new court houses, but the 1910 Court House is still used for juvenile cases.   

Mock up of International Space Station, Astronaut Training, Space Center Houston

‘Houston, we've had a problem here’ is the phrase that astronaut John Swigert, Jr used to report a major failure aboard the Apollo 13 Moon Mission. Everyone old enough to remember 1970 is familiar with this heart stopping story of a severely crippled space ship limping back to earth. The phrase, which was misquoted in the film ‘Apollo 13’, also raised awareness that the moon missions were controlled from Houston and not from the launch site in Florida. Today Space Center Houston is partly an operational space center (the NASA Johnson Space Center) and partly a museum. A tour introduces you to both aspects. This picture shows a mock-up of the International Space Station used for training astronauts in preparation for a tour of the Space Station. Historic exhibits include various space capsules and rockets (including the huge Saturn V rocket), the Lunar Rover trainer, the Space Shuttle and the original control room used for nine Gemini and all Apollo missions. Click Tab 2 to see the historic Mission Control. 

Houston

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Former  Rice Hotel

The Allen Brothers expected their town that they had named Houston would be the capital of the Republic of Texas, so they set aside a plot for a Capitol building. There they built a Capitol but it was used only from 1837 to 1839 before the capital moved to Austin. It was used again between 1842 and 1845 but then the capital returned permanently to Austin and the building became an hotel. In 1858 the hotel had the misfortune to be the place where the last President of the Republic of Texas, Anson Jones, committed suicide .The building was demolished in 1881 and a new five storey hotel called the Capitol Hotel was built on the site. The owner, Col. Abraham Groesbeck, died in 1886 and the hotel was bought by William Rice and he owned it until he was murdered in 1900. After his death control passed to Rice Institute which he had founded to set up a University. The Institute changed the name to the Rice Hotel  then in 1912 they demolished the five storey building  and replaced it with a 17 storey hotel of the same name. The hotel was extended to more than 1,000 rooms, but it was never particularly profitable.  It closed in 1977 and remained vacant until the 1990s when plans were put forward to convert it into apartments. It reopened as the 312 apartment Rice Lofts in April 1998.

Nichols-Rice-Cherry House, Heritage Society at Sam Houston Park

In 1899 Mayor Brashear decided that Houston needed its first park so he set up a Park Committee. They chose an 8 hectare (20 acre)  site where stood an old mill and an 1847 house long used as a school. These were retained and a Victorian park was built around them. By the 1950s the 1847 Kellum-Noble  house in Sam Houston park was threatened with demolition so in 1954 a number of residents formed the Heritage Society to oppose the destruction of the City’s historic buildings.  Not only did they save the Kellum-Noble House, they subsequently saved a number of other buildings by moving them to Sam Houston Park. The Greek Revival Nichols-Rice-Cherry House was built in 1850 in downtown Courthouse Square but then moved to several other locations around Houston. In 1959 it was the first building moved to the park.  The oldest building in the park dates back to 1823, shortly after Mexico gained its independence.  The Old Place is a log cabin that was was originally located on the banks of Clear Creek. It was moved to the park in 1973.   Click tab 2 to see The Old Place.

METRORail train on Main Street at Congress Street

Houston is the the capital of the US oil industry, so we were a little surprised to find that the city has a light rail system to challenge the rule of the car. Needless to say, it was a long and hard fight to get a light rail system built in Houston. In 1983 the first plan was rejected in a referendum. Another referendum in 1988 approved the plan, but politicians removed funding and interest groups took legal action which ensured that work did not start until 2001. The original 12 kilometre (7.5 mile) line opened at the beginning of January 2004. Despite continued opposition from some groups and politicians the METRORail light rail system has now extended to three lines with a total of 36 kilometres (23 miles) of track.

Japanese Garden, Hermann Park

In 1914 George H. Hermann, a successful industrialist and real estate investor, announced that he would donate 115 hectares (285 acres) of land to the south west of the centre of Houston to be used as a municipal park. Hermann passed away later that year but his bequest went ahead and a desegregated golf course was completed on the land in 1922. A zoo and lake soon followed and the amount of land dedicated to the park was increased by more than 50%. A miniature train service was set up in the park in 1957. In 1992 an Japanese Garden was opened in Hermann Park to symbolise the friendship between the USA and Japan and the role that Japanese  have played in the community of Houston.  Built in the traditional Daimyo Style it was designed by world-renowned Japanese landscape architect Ken Nakajima. Click Tab 2 to see a picture of the miniature train service.

Cotton Exchange

Not all of Houston’s historic buildings have been moved to Sam Houston Park.  Still standing at its original location of 202 Travis Street is the old Cotton Exchange building.  The building was commissioned by Houston Cotton Exchange Board and architect Eugene Heiner designed a three storey building that was completed in 1884. The building in the picture has four storeys because by 1907 it had become too small so an extra storey was added.  By 1924 the building had again become too small, so the Cotton Exchange moved to a 16 storey building in Prairie Street. The old Cotton Exchange building was restored in 1973 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places.  It is now the home of a Wine and Whisky Bar.

© Mike  Elsden 1981 - 2025

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