If you are headed Northwest out of Harris county to catch a glimpse of the beautiful Texas wild flowers this Spring be sure to include Burleson County on your list of Texas counties to see. From Brenham Texas you will head north to Somerville along highway 36 to go through Burleson county. Lake Somerville is on the southern line of Burleson county and it is a great place to visit for fishing and camping. It has a lot of camp sites with tables and other necessary conveniences. I have enjoyed many weekends at this lake and the camp grounds. I certainly do recommend it to you if you like to get outdoors to have fun in the sun, wet a hook or just take a boat ride. Burleson county is very wooded for the most part with mostly sandy loom soil and a fairly level landscape with elevations around 200 feet to 475 feet. Burleson County was founded in 1846 and the county seat is in Caldwell Texas.
Caldwell Texas is north of Somerville where highway 36 and highway 21 cross each other. Highway 21 is also known as the Old San Antonio Road which was traveled as early as 1713 to 1718. Early settlers in Burleson county faced a lot of dangers along the Old San Antonio road including Indian raids, but face them they did and were part of Stephen F Austin's first colony in the 1820's. As I drive along this old quite country road I can't help but think about the many faces that have traveled this way before. That's a lot of history your flying by, so why not stop a while and consider the beauty all around you. There is after all 678 square miles of total area in the county with plenty of room for you.
By the 1840's the Indian threat was small and the 1850 census showed no Indians in the county. The antebellum Texas of the early 1800's was noted in 1847 with 866 whites and 330 slaves in the county. Then came the civil war in 1861 and reconstruction to follow, with very violent and chaotic times. Outlaws and brigands or veterans unwilling to give up the fight roamed the country along Yegua creek rustling cattle and stealing horses and whatever they thought they could get away with. Even the notorious Sam Bass and his gang where said to have lived in the area for a time. However, from about 1870 with the Chisholm trail drives following the Brazos river through the county there was steady growth and improvements. The cotton planters received improvements in transportation when they began hauling their cotton to the Houston and Texas Central railway line in near by adjoining Brazos County. Then in the early 1880's the Gulf, Santa Fe and Colorado railway extended lines to Caldwell. And the rest as they say is history. the current population of 17,187 is still mostly rural and farm land and yes they still grow cotton, especially along the Brazos river.
Now on the other side of the Brazos river from Burleson county Brazos County founded in 1841. The county seat of Brazos county is Bryan Texas and the city is part of the Bryan College Station metropolitan area. The growth in this county is very impressive and investments in land here reflect that growth. When I looked at the census records from 1850 on there is positive growth in this county every year except one negative span in 1930. From 1940 to 2010 the census shows 25% to 63% growth year after year. The current population is over 194,000 and continuing to grow. There is 590 square miles of area in the county, so it is smaller than it's neighbor Burleson county, but the city of College Station with the Texas A & M campus adds a lot of growth to the community. As a real estate broker I see a lot of investment potential in land growth for Brazos county with plenty of wide open spaces if you need to spread out a little. The drive out highway 21 headed north east along the old San Antonio road is a good place to start.
The old San Antonio road or old Spanish Trail, as some like to call it, runs along the north line of Brazos county. There are many old tails about lost gold shipments, never found from this stretch of highway. One such story is about a mule train carrying a load of gold and silver to San Antonio being attacked and the gold was buried by a petrified tree near Bryan. They say it was never recovered. I can certainly imagine how dangerous it was to travel along this road long ago in the early 1800's with Indians and outlaws waiting around every hill or crossing. Other legends of the Brazos river bottom are fun to explore and will leave you wondering if they are really true or not. Of course the ghost stories from the boggy bottom land of the Brazos valley will also keep you looking over your shoulder as well. The land is picturesque with a slight roll to mostly flat and lots of wild flowers and trees especially along the creeks and gullies and low areas draining into the Brazos river. The hill top views are spectacular and seem to call out for a picnic spread. This is nice country folks and well worth the trip to see it. Friendly people will also make you want to stay a while and just say Howdy
Reference link http://en.wikipedia.org/
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
North and North West Where Trees Grow Tall
Before you leave Harris county headed Northwest on Hwy 249, you will go through my old home town of Tomball Texas. It is a mighty fine place to stop and see some very friendly people and spend some time especially in the old downtown part that has now become a collectors dream of fine antique shops. When you cross the spring creek bridge you have arrived in Montgomery County, which was founded in 1837 and named for the town of Montgomery Texas. Conroe Texas is the county seat of Montgomery county. Montgomery has been recognized as the official birthplace of the Texas Flag. Now I don't know about everybody else, but that flag, the Texas Flag, is very near and dear to this old boy's heart. So my hats off to Montgomery County for that fact alone. Dr. Charles B. Stewart is credited with creating the very inspiring lone star Flag of Texas. But I am also a real estate broker and this next little bit of information has really made me sit up and take notice of the land in this county. From the 2010 census Montgomery county has a whopping 55% growth rate making it the 24th fastest growing county in the whole United States. The population in 2010 was 455,746 and they are still growing and counting. They do have a lot of land and beautiful trees to grow on with 1,077 total square miles of water and land area. In fact if you like census data and numbers, Montgomery county is the place to look for extended population growth. Look at these numbers. In 1970 they had 84.4% growth rate, 1980 they had 159%, In 1990 41% and 2000 was 61%. Now that is impressive growth for any area and real sustained growth. I also love the beautiful trees in the Sam Houston National Forest which is located mostly north of lake conroe and north of the town of Montgomery. Walking trails and bike trails and camping are all there and just a few minutes from newly built restaurants and shopping. Oh, and did I mention beautiful lake Conroe? Boating, fishing, skiing, sailing and nice accommodations everywhere. I mean, come on folks, what's not to like about this place. It really does have it all and you should see some of the golf courses in this county. Bentwater and Woodlands TPC to mention a couple, are first rate courses and absolutely beautiful to play or see.
Adjacent to Montgomery County is Grimes County to the west. Grimes county was founded in 1846 and the county seat is Anderson Texas. Grimes county was named after Jesse Grimes who was an early settler and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Grimes county is somewhat smaller than its neighbor Montgomery county, with only about 800 square miles of area but not the smallest county by far. As I traveled through Grimes county to Anderson Texas, I was impressed with the rolling country side and the beautiful wild flowers. I have heard this county called the land of milk and honey and I could certainly see why. It is drop dead gorgeous, from a real estate man's point of view. I mean everywhere you look is green and lush, with rolling hills and beautiful trees and did I mention wild flowers. Oh yes, lots and lots of those. My good friend and fellow blogger, Larry Hugonin, went with me on this trip so we could be sure and get plenty of photos for our faithful readers who love the Texas blue bonnets and wild flower. Now if I can just figure out how to get them downloaded to this blog before the publish time. I hope everyone will enjoy our efforts. Thank you Larry, for all the help and all of your good eye shots. The Grimes county courthouse in Anderson Texas is worth the drive in and of itself, so I hope you can visit soon and enjoy the drive as we did.
Reference link http://en.wikipedia.org/
Adjacent to Montgomery County is Grimes County to the west. Grimes county was founded in 1846 and the county seat is Anderson Texas. Grimes county was named after Jesse Grimes who was an early settler and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Grimes county is somewhat smaller than its neighbor Montgomery county, with only about 800 square miles of area but not the smallest county by far. As I traveled through Grimes county to Anderson Texas, I was impressed with the rolling country side and the beautiful wild flowers. I have heard this county called the land of milk and honey and I could certainly see why. It is drop dead gorgeous, from a real estate man's point of view. I mean everywhere you look is green and lush, with rolling hills and beautiful trees and did I mention wild flowers. Oh yes, lots and lots of those. My good friend and fellow blogger, Larry Hugonin, went with me on this trip so we could be sure and get plenty of photos for our faithful readers who love the Texas blue bonnets and wild flower. Now if I can just figure out how to get them downloaded to this blog before the publish time. I hope everyone will enjoy our efforts. Thank you Larry, for all the help and all of your good eye shots. The Grimes county courthouse in Anderson Texas is worth the drive in and of itself, so I hope you can visit soon and enjoy the drive as we did.
Reference link http://en.wikipedia.org/
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Washington County
Since I have been to Washington County and the county seat in Brenham Texas many times over my life, I felt I should include it in my blog as soon as possible. What better time than now, at Easter weekend when a lot of you will be driving through there just to catch even a short look at the blue bonnets. It is a pleasure to see the land and wild flowers and smell the fresh green lush fields that make up this beautiful panorama of Texas landscape. From the Brazos river and Chappel Hill then on up to the Washington on the Brazos Park and Independence and over to Burton there is nothing quite like it. Wow! That's what I say, It will simply wow you. If you can't get out to see this amazing display of wild flowers I hope in some small way my photo page will convey what it's like to drive through this county.
Washington county was founded in 1836 and of course is know for the convention of 1836 where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed. Do yourself a big favor and take at least a whole day to visit the Washington on the Brazos State Park. It is very interesting and there is a lot to see. The Texas museum and the special movies and programs are really great. Then there is the restored building where the actual declaration of Independence was signed and also on the grounds is a restored farm doing the every day chores of early Texas settlers. This part is a must see, complete with the house, barns, oxen, chickens, gardens, cattle and everything you would imagine like tools and old farm implements. The reenactment is very interesting to see and the actors are very knowledgeable of the time period. Then if that's not enough, you can stroll the grounds down to the Brazos river and enjoy the picnic grounds surrounded by huge old pecan trees and oak trees, with plenty of benches and tables or just spread out a blanket on the ground. There is a location on the Brazos that points out the old river crossing where the ferry use to be. And the sign describes the panic of people trying to cross the river before Santa Anna and his troops could trap them on the wrong side of the river. I can just imagine how terrifying that could have been.
Washington county is not a large county in size but it does cover 621 square miles. It has had fairly steady growth since the 1980's at about 15% every ten years when the census is taken. The 2010 census was down a little and showed only a 11% increase with a population at 33,718. I mentioned that the county seat of Washington county was Brenham and I should have added that the Washington county courthouse was in Brenham. Blinn junior college is well know and respected in Brenham and I have known many good friends of mine that started out at Blinn college. Washington county and Brenham Texas are also home to that wonderful company we all know as Blue Bell Ice Cream. I myself would not miss an opportunity to take the Blue Bell factory tour as often as I could. Why just last summer I had the pleasure of taking the tour with my grand children and it was great! I always have a hard time making up my mind between homemade vanilla or chocolate. So I usually end up getting them both. Yum! Do yourself a favor and go this year. You will love it. And go have a picnic on the Brazos river at the park while your at it.
Reference link http://en.wikipedia.org/
Washington county was founded in 1836 and of course is know for the convention of 1836 where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed. Do yourself a big favor and take at least a whole day to visit the Washington on the Brazos State Park. It is very interesting and there is a lot to see. The Texas museum and the special movies and programs are really great. Then there is the restored building where the actual declaration of Independence was signed and also on the grounds is a restored farm doing the every day chores of early Texas settlers. This part is a must see, complete with the house, barns, oxen, chickens, gardens, cattle and everything you would imagine like tools and old farm implements. The reenactment is very interesting to see and the actors are very knowledgeable of the time period. Then if that's not enough, you can stroll the grounds down to the Brazos river and enjoy the picnic grounds surrounded by huge old pecan trees and oak trees, with plenty of benches and tables or just spread out a blanket on the ground. There is a location on the Brazos that points out the old river crossing where the ferry use to be. And the sign describes the panic of people trying to cross the river before Santa Anna and his troops could trap them on the wrong side of the river. I can just imagine how terrifying that could have been.
Washington county is not a large county in size but it does cover 621 square miles. It has had fairly steady growth since the 1980's at about 15% every ten years when the census is taken. The 2010 census was down a little and showed only a 11% increase with a population at 33,718. I mentioned that the county seat of Washington county was Brenham and I should have added that the Washington county courthouse was in Brenham. Blinn junior college is well know and respected in Brenham and I have known many good friends of mine that started out at Blinn college. Washington county and Brenham Texas are also home to that wonderful company we all know as Blue Bell Ice Cream. I myself would not miss an opportunity to take the Blue Bell factory tour as often as I could. Why just last summer I had the pleasure of taking the tour with my grand children and it was great! I always have a hard time making up my mind between homemade vanilla or chocolate. So I usually end up getting them both. Yum! Do yourself a favor and go this year. You will love it. And go have a picnic on the Brazos river at the park while your at it.
Reference link http://en.wikipedia.org/
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Three Counties East of Houston Texas & Harris County
I guess that my choice of the title for this week was sort of predictable but the trip was unexpected, although a familiar trip, as I have traveled I10 east many times in the past. Our destination was to Lafayette Louisiana and we saw some interesting and very different land from the trip last week to the west of Houston and Harris County. So Welcome! to another segment of Texas Land Talk.
Leaving Harris County to the east along Interstate 10, the first county we drove through was Chambers County Texas, established in 1858. The county line is right before you get to hwy 146 along I10. The county seat of Chambers County is Anahuac, which is south of I10 on hwy 562 towards Trinity bay and East bay and the Gulf of Mexico. As you might suspect from that statement the county has a lot of land area fronting along the water. There is a total area of 872 square miles in Chambers County and 273 square miles is water, with 599 square miles of land. Most of the land is fairly flat with good stands of Oak and Pine trees dotting the country side. There are a few developments and water front lots are easily available. I remember some land in Oak Island which I brokered shortly after the last hurricane came through and that area got hit hard from the huge surge that washed through Galveston and into the Galveston bay. They say the surge was over 25 feet in some places. I know that with my own eyes I saw land that was more than a mile away from the coast line with debris washed in that far. The property has recovered well and there is plenty of land for expansion. Chambers county has done well as a whole with over 34% growth in the population shown in the 2010 census. The population in 2010 was 35,096 from the census. As you also may know or suspect, the fishing is always great and there are plenty of places to wet a hook as they say. There is also a very large Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge on the Southeast corner of the county which is wonderful for bird watching and also maybe seeing a few alligators. Before we leave Chambers County along I10 we drive through Winnie Texas where hwy 1406 crosses I10 from the north and Hwy 124 crosses from the south and hwy 73 splits off heading east to Port Arthur. Take any of these roads and you will see miles of farm land, ranches and rice fields. The land is mostly flat and black gumbo as we Texans call it. You will also see a lot of oak trees and moss hanging from the trees as well as gator farms, crawfish farms and hunting fishing accommodations.
Moving on along I10 east we roll through Jefferson County Texas and the county seat of Beaumont Texas. Jefferson county was founded in 1836 and gets its name from former US President Thomas Jefferson. The county has a total land and water area of 1,111 square miles with a population of 252,273 as shown in the 2010 census. Beaumont is the largest city in the county with a population over 118,000 and Port Arthur is the second largest city with a population of over 57,000. There is a lot of industry in the two cities and one of the most famous areas would have to be Spindletop where the Texas oil boom really got started. Downtown Beaumont is a national historic district and there are many points of interest to see like the Crockett street entertainment district and the Beaumont Botanical gardens. Lamar University is a fine college and I enjoyed my first year of college life there, staying in the on campus dorms. My older brothers Ronald and Donald Mahan graduated from Lamar with degrees in chemical engineering. The student enrollment is now over 14,000. Of course Port Arthur in the southern part of the county is famous for being the home of Janis Joplin. A rock and roll singer of the sixties. Well some of us old folks can remember back that far, me being one, so I hope you'll indulge me on that one. As you approach the coast around here there is a lot of industry and the chemical industry plays a big part of the economy. But there is still plenty of that great Texas gulf coast and beaches and fishing all that goes with it. Oh, and did I mention fewer crowds?
As we leave Beaumont headed east we go through Vidor Texas and into Orange County Texas. Orange county Texas sets right on the Texas Louisiana border along the Sabine river and was founded 1852. Orange Texas is the county seat for Orange County and the total population of the county is 81,837 as of the 2010 census. The county is a small county compared to it's neighbor Jefferson county, when it comes to total area, as it only covers 380 square miles. Orange county is mostly flat with sandy soil which is typical of land along the Texas gulf coast. There are plenty of beautiful old oak trees with moss hanging everywhere. This places certainly has the look and feel of down home southern land. There is a lot of petroleum refining industry, timber and paper milling, rice farming and shrimping in the county. I have enjoyed crawfish boils in this town and down home Cajun music so I highly recommend you stop and stay awhile when you can. On this trip we were only passing through but the beauty is to the beholder and the swamps and bayous and cypress trees hold a special charm for everyone to see.
Reference link http://en.wikipedia.org/
Leaving Harris County to the east along Interstate 10, the first county we drove through was Chambers County Texas, established in 1858. The county line is right before you get to hwy 146 along I10. The county seat of Chambers County is Anahuac, which is south of I10 on hwy 562 towards Trinity bay and East bay and the Gulf of Mexico. As you might suspect from that statement the county has a lot of land area fronting along the water. There is a total area of 872 square miles in Chambers County and 273 square miles is water, with 599 square miles of land. Most of the land is fairly flat with good stands of Oak and Pine trees dotting the country side. There are a few developments and water front lots are easily available. I remember some land in Oak Island which I brokered shortly after the last hurricane came through and that area got hit hard from the huge surge that washed through Galveston and into the Galveston bay. They say the surge was over 25 feet in some places. I know that with my own eyes I saw land that was more than a mile away from the coast line with debris washed in that far. The property has recovered well and there is plenty of land for expansion. Chambers county has done well as a whole with over 34% growth in the population shown in the 2010 census. The population in 2010 was 35,096 from the census. As you also may know or suspect, the fishing is always great and there are plenty of places to wet a hook as they say. There is also a very large Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge on the Southeast corner of the county which is wonderful for bird watching and also maybe seeing a few alligators. Before we leave Chambers County along I10 we drive through Winnie Texas where hwy 1406 crosses I10 from the north and Hwy 124 crosses from the south and hwy 73 splits off heading east to Port Arthur. Take any of these roads and you will see miles of farm land, ranches and rice fields. The land is mostly flat and black gumbo as we Texans call it. You will also see a lot of oak trees and moss hanging from the trees as well as gator farms, crawfish farms and hunting fishing accommodations.
Moving on along I10 east we roll through Jefferson County Texas and the county seat of Beaumont Texas. Jefferson county was founded in 1836 and gets its name from former US President Thomas Jefferson. The county has a total land and water area of 1,111 square miles with a population of 252,273 as shown in the 2010 census. Beaumont is the largest city in the county with a population over 118,000 and Port Arthur is the second largest city with a population of over 57,000. There is a lot of industry in the two cities and one of the most famous areas would have to be Spindletop where the Texas oil boom really got started. Downtown Beaumont is a national historic district and there are many points of interest to see like the Crockett street entertainment district and the Beaumont Botanical gardens. Lamar University is a fine college and I enjoyed my first year of college life there, staying in the on campus dorms. My older brothers Ronald and Donald Mahan graduated from Lamar with degrees in chemical engineering. The student enrollment is now over 14,000. Of course Port Arthur in the southern part of the county is famous for being the home of Janis Joplin. A rock and roll singer of the sixties. Well some of us old folks can remember back that far, me being one, so I hope you'll indulge me on that one. As you approach the coast around here there is a lot of industry and the chemical industry plays a big part of the economy. But there is still plenty of that great Texas gulf coast and beaches and fishing all that goes with it. Oh, and did I mention fewer crowds?
As we leave Beaumont headed east we go through Vidor Texas and into Orange County Texas. Orange county Texas sets right on the Texas Louisiana border along the Sabine river and was founded 1852. Orange Texas is the county seat for Orange County and the total population of the county is 81,837 as of the 2010 census. The county is a small county compared to it's neighbor Jefferson county, when it comes to total area, as it only covers 380 square miles. Orange county is mostly flat with sandy soil which is typical of land along the Texas gulf coast. There are plenty of beautiful old oak trees with moss hanging everywhere. This places certainly has the look and feel of down home southern land. There is a lot of petroleum refining industry, timber and paper milling, rice farming and shrimping in the county. I have enjoyed crawfish boils in this town and down home Cajun music so I highly recommend you stop and stay awhile when you can. On this trip we were only passing through but the beauty is to the beholder and the swamps and bayous and cypress trees hold a special charm for everyone to see.
Reference link http://en.wikipedia.org/
Friday, March 16, 2012
Three Counties West of Houston Texas & Harris County
There are 7 counties adjacent to Harris county. Northwest of Harris county is Waller county, North is Montgomery county, Northeast is Liberty county, East is Chambers county, Southeast is Galveston county, South is Brazoria county and Southwest is Fort Bend county.
I had the pleasure to drive through Waller county this week and the county seat in the city of Hempstead. From Houston it is just a short drive out Hwy 290 where you will see Hwy 6 heading north to Bryan College Station and South into Hempstead Texas. If you haven't been to Waller in a while you will be surprised at the changes. The population growth in 2000 was over 39% and in 2010 it was over 32%. That rapid growth is expected to continue for the next 10 or 20 years, so I don't think you could call it a fluke or a short term bump. No indeed! This is real sustained growth and the land owners are smiling all the way to the bank, as they say. I of course, remember doing a lot of hunting on that prairie land. My old buddy from Tomball high school Bill Williams, had an uncle that had a peanut farm somewhere around Waller, where the duck and goose hunting was great. We had some good times there. I don't remember exactly where that spot was but it is probably a subdivision now or in the planning stages for one. I should call my good friend Tim Phelan at Waller County land company and check on that. Tim has been in the real estate business since back in the 80"s and is very knowledgeable of the land in Waller. But Y'all know how that is, That's one of those things you do when you get a-round-to it and you almost never get a-round-to it. Anyway Tim's a sharp guy, we have brokered some land sales together and it is always a pleasure seeing him. I think there are a number of things moving the population growth in Waller and if I had to pick a word it would be, Access. The Grand Parkway, called State Hwy 99 is being built from I10 in Katy over to Hwy 290 near the Mason road area. From the looks of things driving out Hwy 290 it looks like that segment of the Parkway is already under way. There are also plans to build a toll road out the old Hempstead road corridor from the 610 loop in Houston all the way out to the new Hwy 99. Wow, that will be great for the area!
Waller county has 4 school districts serving the county. The districts include Waller ISD, Hempstead ISD, Katy ISD and Royal ISD. In addition to the high schools is the long standing Prairie View A&M University just outside of Hempstead and right off Hwy 290 to the North. I mentioned that the county seat of Waller County was Hempstead and the Waller County Courthouse is also in Hempstead. The county was founded in 1873 and named after Edwin Waller who was a native of Virginia and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. I'm sure old Edwin, got here to Texas, as quick as he could. Mr. Waller was also mayor of Austin, for those history buffs, among us. According to the US census bureau Waller county has 518 square miles of land and water area. The major highways are I10, Hwy 90, Hwy 290 and State Hwy 6. A favorite road of mine is hwy 362 that runs sort of north and south through the county and crosses hwy 1488 that runs back to Magnolia an and the Woodlands in Montgomery county The population recorded in the 2010 census was 43,205. So it is small compared to it's neighbor, Harris county, but it has a lot of folks looking that way and moving that way. As a real estate broker I believe the land investments in Waller County look very promising with excellent up side growth in the current land prices. Especially if they are in and around the new roads, subdivisions, and shopping centers.
Leaving Waller county I next went through Austin county and the city of Bellville Texas, which is the county seat. The Austin county courthouse is also in Bellville. Austin county has a population of 28,417 as recorded in the 2010 census with a growth rate of around 20%. Austin county covers a total area of 656 square miles. The county was named after Stephen F Austin and founded in 1837. The drive between Hempstead and Bellville on hwy 159 crosses over the Brazos river and is a pleasant country road with beautiful ranch land scenery and loads of wild flowers. If your looking for space and nice country living this is certainly a choice area. The Bellville chamber of commerce over on Holland street, can fill your basket with information about the people, the town and the surrounding country land. On this trip I went through Bellville and turned on FM 2429 to Cat Spring and then on to New Ulm and Freisburg off FM 1094. Now you talk about a nice country drive and plenty of bluebonnets and Texas wildflowers, well Sir, this drive is loaded! My wife and I had to stop 3 or 4 times and wouldn't ya know it I forgot the camera. Duh! I was just going to Columbus to pick up a permit so it sort of slipped my mind. But we will make that drive again and I will try try to post some pictures for everyone to see. The Texas Star Cafe in New Ulm had a great menu and the food was delicious. The chocolate pie was to die for! What a meal and really nice folks. Oh, and we stopped by Heinsohn's store to check out all Bar-B-Que stuff and just about anything you can could ever need or think you need and a lot you probably didn't know you needed, but there it will be. Be sure and take a while to look around.
From Austin county outside of New Ulm I traveled along FM 1094 toward Freisburg turning south on FM 109 in Colorado County headed to Columbus which is the county seat of Colorado County. As we came into the city of Columbus we crossed over the Colorado river which the county is named after and was founded in 1836. The Colorado county courthouse built in1890-91 and the structure was added to the National register of historic places in June 17, 1982. Colorado county covers 974 square miles and has a population of 20,874 people as per the US Census for 2010. If you take the Interstate 10 west out of Houston and Harris county to Columbus Texas you will also see a lot of wild flowers and bluebonnets on the trip. I10 is the major interstate road through the area and Hwy 71 is the other major road as well as Hwy 90 out of the city of Eagle lake. There are lots of duck and geese hunting places in the Eagle lake area and in the county as well. There are certainly some beautiful pieces of land along that Colorado river. The Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge is in the eastern part of Colorado county off Hwy 3013 between Sealy and Eagle Lake covering over 10,000 acres of prairie. This is one of the last remnants of coastal prairie for the critically endangered Attwater prairie chicken. They are doing some great work here and any support is important. They need volunteers if you can spare a little time. I hope you will check it out and at least go to the website. They are at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/attwater/index.html Columbus is an interesting city in Colorado county along the Colorado river established in 1821 by members of the Stephen F Austin colony. By 1836 Columbus was home to over twenty five families and during the runaway scrape, Sam Houston camped at Columbus, then burned the town down as he headed to San Jacinto and the final battle of the war for Texas Independence. Amazingly, by 1837 the town was reestablished with public houses, stores and a number of dwellings. You should certainly check out the city of Columbus and look up information on the Painted Churches in the area. Oh yes, and who could go to Columbus and not stop by the 1886 Stafford opera house or the Live Oak Art center. You will be glad you did.
Reference link http://en.wikipedia.org/
I had the pleasure to drive through Waller county this week and the county seat in the city of Hempstead. From Houston it is just a short drive out Hwy 290 where you will see Hwy 6 heading north to Bryan College Station and South into Hempstead Texas. If you haven't been to Waller in a while you will be surprised at the changes. The population growth in 2000 was over 39% and in 2010 it was over 32%. That rapid growth is expected to continue for the next 10 or 20 years, so I don't think you could call it a fluke or a short term bump. No indeed! This is real sustained growth and the land owners are smiling all the way to the bank, as they say. I of course, remember doing a lot of hunting on that prairie land. My old buddy from Tomball high school Bill Williams, had an uncle that had a peanut farm somewhere around Waller, where the duck and goose hunting was great. We had some good times there. I don't remember exactly where that spot was but it is probably a subdivision now or in the planning stages for one. I should call my good friend Tim Phelan at Waller County land company and check on that. Tim has been in the real estate business since back in the 80"s and is very knowledgeable of the land in Waller. But Y'all know how that is, That's one of those things you do when you get a-round-to it and you almost never get a-round-to it. Anyway Tim's a sharp guy, we have brokered some land sales together and it is always a pleasure seeing him. I think there are a number of things moving the population growth in Waller and if I had to pick a word it would be, Access. The Grand Parkway, called State Hwy 99 is being built from I10 in Katy over to Hwy 290 near the Mason road area. From the looks of things driving out Hwy 290 it looks like that segment of the Parkway is already under way. There are also plans to build a toll road out the old Hempstead road corridor from the 610 loop in Houston all the way out to the new Hwy 99. Wow, that will be great for the area!
Waller county has 4 school districts serving the county. The districts include Waller ISD, Hempstead ISD, Katy ISD and Royal ISD. In addition to the high schools is the long standing Prairie View A&M University just outside of Hempstead and right off Hwy 290 to the North. I mentioned that the county seat of Waller County was Hempstead and the Waller County Courthouse is also in Hempstead. The county was founded in 1873 and named after Edwin Waller who was a native of Virginia and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. I'm sure old Edwin, got here to Texas, as quick as he could. Mr. Waller was also mayor of Austin, for those history buffs, among us. According to the US census bureau Waller county has 518 square miles of land and water area. The major highways are I10, Hwy 90, Hwy 290 and State Hwy 6. A favorite road of mine is hwy 362 that runs sort of north and south through the county and crosses hwy 1488 that runs back to Magnolia an and the Woodlands in Montgomery county The population recorded in the 2010 census was 43,205. So it is small compared to it's neighbor, Harris county, but it has a lot of folks looking that way and moving that way. As a real estate broker I believe the land investments in Waller County look very promising with excellent up side growth in the current land prices. Especially if they are in and around the new roads, subdivisions, and shopping centers.
Leaving Waller county I next went through Austin county and the city of Bellville Texas, which is the county seat. The Austin county courthouse is also in Bellville. Austin county has a population of 28,417 as recorded in the 2010 census with a growth rate of around 20%. Austin county covers a total area of 656 square miles. The county was named after Stephen F Austin and founded in 1837. The drive between Hempstead and Bellville on hwy 159 crosses over the Brazos river and is a pleasant country road with beautiful ranch land scenery and loads of wild flowers. If your looking for space and nice country living this is certainly a choice area. The Bellville chamber of commerce over on Holland street, can fill your basket with information about the people, the town and the surrounding country land. On this trip I went through Bellville and turned on FM 2429 to Cat Spring and then on to New Ulm and Freisburg off FM 1094. Now you talk about a nice country drive and plenty of bluebonnets and Texas wildflowers, well Sir, this drive is loaded! My wife and I had to stop 3 or 4 times and wouldn't ya know it I forgot the camera. Duh! I was just going to Columbus to pick up a permit so it sort of slipped my mind. But we will make that drive again and I will try try to post some pictures for everyone to see. The Texas Star Cafe in New Ulm had a great menu and the food was delicious. The chocolate pie was to die for! What a meal and really nice folks. Oh, and we stopped by Heinsohn's store to check out all Bar-B-Que stuff and just about anything you can could ever need or think you need and a lot you probably didn't know you needed, but there it will be. Be sure and take a while to look around.
From Austin county outside of New Ulm I traveled along FM 1094 toward Freisburg turning south on FM 109 in Colorado County headed to Columbus which is the county seat of Colorado County. As we came into the city of Columbus we crossed over the Colorado river which the county is named after and was founded in 1836. The Colorado county courthouse built in1890-91 and the structure was added to the National register of historic places in June 17, 1982. Colorado county covers 974 square miles and has a population of 20,874 people as per the US Census for 2010. If you take the Interstate 10 west out of Houston and Harris county to Columbus Texas you will also see a lot of wild flowers and bluebonnets on the trip. I10 is the major interstate road through the area and Hwy 71 is the other major road as well as Hwy 90 out of the city of Eagle lake. There are lots of duck and geese hunting places in the Eagle lake area and in the county as well. There are certainly some beautiful pieces of land along that Colorado river. The Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge is in the eastern part of Colorado county off Hwy 3013 between Sealy and Eagle Lake covering over 10,000 acres of prairie. This is one of the last remnants of coastal prairie for the critically endangered Attwater prairie chicken. They are doing some great work here and any support is important. They need volunteers if you can spare a little time. I hope you will check it out and at least go to the website. They are at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/attwater/index.html Columbus is an interesting city in Colorado county along the Colorado river established in 1821 by members of the Stephen F Austin colony. By 1836 Columbus was home to over twenty five families and during the runaway scrape, Sam Houston camped at Columbus, then burned the town down as he headed to San Jacinto and the final battle of the war for Texas Independence. Amazingly, by 1837 the town was reestablished with public houses, stores and a number of dwellings. You should certainly check out the city of Columbus and look up information on the Painted Churches in the area. Oh yes, and who could go to Columbus and not stop by the 1886 Stafford opera house or the Live Oak Art center. You will be glad you did.
Reference link http://en.wikipedia.org/
Saturday, March 10, 2012
HARRIS COUNTY TEXAS
As I get more into writing my blog about Texas I realize that there is a lot to write about and I'm pretty sure it is enough to last me a life time. Whatever remaining time the Good Lord will see fit to give me that is! Just trying to cover the main cities, towns and areas has started to look like a very big and huge unmanageable task. So my plan as of now is to try and cover the 254 counties of our great state of Texas and that should be enough of a good thing. Well, maybe not, but of course I will try to throw in as much information as I can and point out a few of the towns and cities as we go along on the journey. I am also sure there will be some very interesting characters to read about. So with that little bit said, let's get started on the county I live in and have spent most of my life here.
Harris County Texas is the most populous county in Texas and was founded in 1836. The City of Houston Texas is the county seat of Harris County. The county was named after John R Harris. Harris County has a total land and water area of 1,778 square miles and the 2010 population was 4,092459. The County was actually founded as Harrisburg County but the name was later changed in 1839 to Harris County. The original Harris County Court House was built in 1913 and is still serving our needs to this very day. In my life time I have seen a lot of old courthouses on the square come down and it is always a tragedy to lose such a land mark. Let's hope we can keep this one for all the future generations.
The Harris County Department of Education has seven elected County School Trustees to oversee 26 school districts all across Harris County. It is an excellent school system and schools like Tomball ISD, Klein, Spring, Katy, Houston, Crosby, Waller, Cypress-Fairbanks, Pasadena and La Porte just to name a few, provide real quality education for our young folks starting out. I myself graduated from Tomball High School and believe that qualifies me as able to speak to the fine quality of professional teachers I had in the Harris County School system. In addition to that there are excellent colleges and universities in Harris County and more college level educational opportunities every day. With the arrival of on-line programs, Wow! this is the place to start and stay, given the great job opportunities in the county. The University of Houston is a top level college and has great 4 year degree programs which produces many of our leaders currently living and working in Houston, Texas and Harris County. Rice University is know for it's high academic standings and recognized nationally as one of the leading teaching and research universities of the United States. The campus is absolutely beautiful as I have driven past it many times. It is near the Houston Medical center and the huge oak trees are certainly a beautiful sight to see. I certainly think I should mention here the Lone Star Community college campuses in Harris County as I believe they also offer excellent college level classes without the kids having to move out from home after high school graduation. There is a campus here in the Tomball and Cypress-Fairbanks areas and from what I have seen really do a great job of offering kids a good starting place straight out of High School. Oh, and another great idea at the community colleges is the continuing study programs for anyone wanting to learn more about a hobby or job skills, like computers, etc. etc. These are excellent programs for older folks and working moms and dads that can take one or two classes here and there. I myself took my real estate classes for my Brokers license at the University of Houston Downtown school. This is a great system we have here.
Harris County has so much to offer it is hard to get my mind around all that statement represents. There are two major airports including George Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airport. Also Ellington Field a general aviation and military airport, as well as numerous privately owned airports such as West Houston airport, Dan Jones International, Weiser Air Park and David Wayne Hooks Memorial airport. There is (METRO) the metropolitan transit authority of Harris county that operates the bus lines and fairly new Metro train lines. There is Greyhound bus lines of course and Amtrak train service to take you just about any where you might want to go. There is the Port of Houston and the energy capital of the world, for lack of a better word, to describe the vast and booming economy of Harris County. The Texas Medical Center is also known for outstanding medical care and advancements on a world wide scope. No pun intended. Well maybe a little. Cancer research and heart care medicine are known to be the best available any where in the world. The Harris County hospital services operates three hospitals in the county and as well as many clinics. The major hospitals are LBJ General, Quentin Mease Community and Ben Taub General. Harris County also operates its own public library system, fire fighters and police protection.
I think I could go on for a long time about Harris County but time and space have to come into play somewhere. If you want to look up more facts and figures on Harris County just go to Goggle and type in Harris County Texas. That will get you more to read than most of us have time for this year. One more web site you might want to use some time is the Harris County Appraisal District. HCAD They give you tax information, property ownership maps, appraisals and do a really good job of it.
Go to http://www.hcad.org http://en.wikipedia.org/ Reference link
Harris County Texas is the most populous county in Texas and was founded in 1836. The City of Houston Texas is the county seat of Harris County. The county was named after John R Harris. Harris County has a total land and water area of 1,778 square miles and the 2010 population was 4,092459. The County was actually founded as Harrisburg County but the name was later changed in 1839 to Harris County. The original Harris County Court House was built in 1913 and is still serving our needs to this very day. In my life time I have seen a lot of old courthouses on the square come down and it is always a tragedy to lose such a land mark. Let's hope we can keep this one for all the future generations.
The Harris County Department of Education has seven elected County School Trustees to oversee 26 school districts all across Harris County. It is an excellent school system and schools like Tomball ISD, Klein, Spring, Katy, Houston, Crosby, Waller, Cypress-Fairbanks, Pasadena and La Porte just to name a few, provide real quality education for our young folks starting out. I myself graduated from Tomball High School and believe that qualifies me as able to speak to the fine quality of professional teachers I had in the Harris County School system. In addition to that there are excellent colleges and universities in Harris County and more college level educational opportunities every day. With the arrival of on-line programs, Wow! this is the place to start and stay, given the great job opportunities in the county. The University of Houston is a top level college and has great 4 year degree programs which produces many of our leaders currently living and working in Houston, Texas and Harris County. Rice University is know for it's high academic standings and recognized nationally as one of the leading teaching and research universities of the United States. The campus is absolutely beautiful as I have driven past it many times. It is near the Houston Medical center and the huge oak trees are certainly a beautiful sight to see. I certainly think I should mention here the Lone Star Community college campuses in Harris County as I believe they also offer excellent college level classes without the kids having to move out from home after high school graduation. There is a campus here in the Tomball and Cypress-Fairbanks areas and from what I have seen really do a great job of offering kids a good starting place straight out of High School. Oh, and another great idea at the community colleges is the continuing study programs for anyone wanting to learn more about a hobby or job skills, like computers, etc. etc. These are excellent programs for older folks and working moms and dads that can take one or two classes here and there. I myself took my real estate classes for my Brokers license at the University of Houston Downtown school. This is a great system we have here.
Harris County has so much to offer it is hard to get my mind around all that statement represents. There are two major airports including George Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airport. Also Ellington Field a general aviation and military airport, as well as numerous privately owned airports such as West Houston airport, Dan Jones International, Weiser Air Park and David Wayne Hooks Memorial airport. There is (METRO) the metropolitan transit authority of Harris county that operates the bus lines and fairly new Metro train lines. There is Greyhound bus lines of course and Amtrak train service to take you just about any where you might want to go. There is the Port of Houston and the energy capital of the world, for lack of a better word, to describe the vast and booming economy of Harris County. The Texas Medical Center is also known for outstanding medical care and advancements on a world wide scope. No pun intended. Well maybe a little. Cancer research and heart care medicine are known to be the best available any where in the world. The Harris County hospital services operates three hospitals in the county and as well as many clinics. The major hospitals are LBJ General, Quentin Mease Community and Ben Taub General. Harris County also operates its own public library system, fire fighters and police protection.
I think I could go on for a long time about Harris County but time and space have to come into play somewhere. If you want to look up more facts and figures on Harris County just go to Goggle and type in Harris County Texas. That will get you more to read than most of us have time for this year. One more web site you might want to use some time is the Harris County Appraisal District. HCAD They give you tax information, property ownership maps, appraisals and do a really good job of it.
Go to http://www.hcad.org http://en.wikipedia.org/ Reference link
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Texas County Map
Texas County Map
As we travel around this great state of Texas, I thought it might be helpful to have a county map to look at and know just exactly where we are in the state. There are after all, 254 counties to travel through and some you probably never even heard of. I know Schleicher County was a new one on me and I am sure there will be more to come. Just click on the Texas County Map link to find the County and the County seat. I hope to bring you more photos of each county and of course those wonderful old court houses from days gone by. Charles
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