Houston History Stuff
We here at get donkey! are quickly approaching that time of year when Rancho del Burro is happily besieged by various family visitors and houseguests. It will be the first trip to H-town for some, and I, being the 1999 runner-up for Dork of the Year, am the type of host that likes to point things out to my guests as we tool around town in the family truckster. Stuff like, “See that field over there? Well that’s where the old manse of Colonel Jim Tuckwilla, the Sausage King of Crababble County, once stood.”
It dawned on me the other day, however, that I know next to nothing about Houston history. As a result, yesterday evening became a quest for knowledge.
I found some cool stuff.
The first thing I found was 166 Years of Houston History which contains a pretty exhaustive decade-by-decade account of Houston. It is a bit out of date (they have a page about Ken Lay that still makes him look good), and perhaps a bit whitewashed, but it is nevertheless chock-full of historic goodness and interesting architectural information. Right up my alley.
The next thing I found was the Houston Heritage Society which explained what that collection of old houses on the North side of downtown Houston is all about.
I also found a site about Bayou Bend which answers one of the many “What do you think that is all about?” questions I annoy my wife with every time we drive down Memorial. Since Bayou Bend was her home, the site also contains information about Miss Ima Hogg. Miss Hogg was one of Houston’s most generous philanthropists and from what I read, an all-around interesting person. This site was also the final bit of proof I needed to convince my disbelieving wife that there was, in fact, someone named Ima Hogg.
Finally, the site that truly made the whole quest worthwhile was Houston Wet. According to the front page, the site is:
a web documentary about
the city of Houston,
a subdivision that sunk,
the flag on the moon . . .
and how we’re building
on Earth.
The centerpiece of the site is the tragic story of Brownwood, a Houston subdivision that, as the introduction snippet above implies, sunk underwater due to a bizarre confluence of geological and human-created causes. What fascinated me was that I was alive during most of the years the sad story of Brownwood’s sinking unfolded, but I don’t recall ever hearing about it. It seems like a sinking suburb would have been a major news story on the level of Love Canal or TMI, but somehow it never made its way into the national consciousness.
The other major piece of the site details Houston’s role in the 1969 Moon Mission. I haven’t finished that section yet, but so far it is just as good.
Anyway the site design alone makes Houston Wet worth a visit. Please go visit it. Now.
If anyone out there knows of any other sites or sources where I can find tasty tidbits of Bayou City history, please let me know.
Chicago was on fire once.
Comment by Marc | 10/9/2002
Yeah, I read about that in some book. Something to do with a drunken moo-cow falling asleep in bed with a cigarette.
Comment by Rob Humenik | 10/9/2002
So goes the story. Truth be told, “Mrs. O’Leary’s Alpaca” didn’t have quite the same ring to it.
Comment by Marc | 10/9/2002
Thanks for the great links to Houston info! Now I might be able to convince myself that I like this city. Maybe. After all, we have sinking subdivisions!
Comment by Christine | 10/12/2002