Humble, Texas
Humble (pronounced //ˈʌmbəl//) ]is a city in Harris County, Texas within the Houston•Sugar Land•Baytown metropolitan area.
As of the 2000 census, the city population was 14,579. The city shares a zip code with the small Houston neighborhood of Bordersville, although people who live in Bordersville still have Humble addresses.
Petroleum has been the basis of Humble's economy since its beginning. Loch Energy is headquartered in Humble; the city was the namesake for Humble Oil and Refining Company, which later merged with the Exxon corporation.
Contents |
History
| This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2008) |
The first settlers began moving into the Humble area in the early 1800s. Joseph Dunman was thought to be the first person to settle here and was believed to have arrived in 1828. A ferry was built nearby, over the San Jacinto River, and the area of Humble became a center for commercial activity due to the region's large timber industry.
The city got its name from one of the original founders/settlers, Pleasant Smith "Plez" Humble, who opened the first post office in his home and later served as justice of the peace. In 1883 a city directory reported that he operated a fruit stand. In 1885, he was a wood dealer, and in 1900, the District 99, Justice Pct. 4, Harris Co., Texas Census reports his occupation as attorney at law.
Humble became an oil boom town in the early 1900s when oil was first produced there. The first oil was produced a couple years after the famous Spindletop discovery in Beaumont, Texas. Railroad linkage was established in 1904 and shortly thereafter the first tank car of oil was shipped out of Humble's oil field. The Humble oil fields are still active and have produced over 138,835,590 barrels of oil. When the oil boom receded, many land owners returned to truck farming, dairy farming and the timber industry.
It remained a rather small, quiet city until the opening of the Houston Intercontinental Airport in 1969.
Geography
Map of HumbleHumble is located at 29°59′42″N 95°15′54″W / 29.995°N 95.265°W (29.994920, -95.264873).[4]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.9 square miles (25.6 km²), of which, 9.9 square miles (25.6 km²) of it is land and 0.10% is water.
Downtown Humble is located on a salt dome and most of the petroleum production is shallow and encircles the city by about a 2.5 mile radius.[citation needed]
Demographics
A water tower in Humble. The Wildcats is the Humble High School football team.As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 14,579 people, 5,460 households, and 3,652 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,477.5 people per square mile (570.3/km²). There were 5,908 housing units at an average density of 598.7/sq mi (231.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.24% White, 14.49% African American, 0.68% Native American, 3.22% Asian, 0.26% Pacific Islander, 9.07% from other races, and 3.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.36% of the population.
There were 5,460 households out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.0% under the age of 18, 12.3% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,834, and the median income for a family was $46,399. Males had a median income of $34,434 versus $26,988 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,678. About 12.2% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.
CityData.com states that the crime rates for Humble were higher than the average United States crime rate. The average crime rate for cities with under 30,000 people was 325.2; Humble's crime rate was at 744.4 [2].
Government and infrastructure
Humble City HallCounty, state, and federal representation
Harris County operates a tax office at 7900 Will Clayton Parkway in Humble.[5]
Harris County Hospital District operates the E. A. "Squatty" Lyons Health Center in Humble. The clinic opened in 1991, replacing a clinic in Bordersville.[6]
The United States Postal Service Humble Post Office is located at 1202 1st Street East.[7] The Foxbrook Finance Unit is located near Humble in an unincorporated area;[8] On Monday May 10, 2008, the Foxbrook post office was dedicated as the "Texas Military Veterans Post Office" in a ceremony hosted by U.S. Congressperson Ted Poe.[9]
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Humble High SchoolHumble is served by the Humble Independent School District.
The city of Humble has three public elementary schools:
Humble is served by Ross Sterling Middle School (formerly by Humble Middle School in unincorporated Harris County), Humble High School, Atascocita High School and Summer Creek High School. All students attending the Humble Independent School District have the option to attend Quest High School, a magnet high school in the Atascocita section of unincorporated Harris County.
Humble is served by the Lone Star College System (formerly North Harris Montgomery Community College District).
Community colleges
Lone Star College System (formerly the North Harris Montgomery Community College District) serves the area.[10] In 1972 residents of Humble ISD and two other K-12 school districts voted to create the North Harris County College. The community college district began operations in the northern hemisphere fall of 1973.[11]
Public libraries
Octavia Fields Branch LibraryThe Harris County Public Library Octavia Fields Branch Library is located at 1503 South Houston Avenue in Humble. Humble's first public library opened in 1921 with the books stored in the high school. In 1923 the library was split between the high school and the Woodyard School. In 1926 the library moved to a church. In 1928 the library moved into the then-new Humble courthouse. In the early 1930s the library moved to city hall. In 1932 the city hall courtroom became a reading room. In the early 1960s a man named Tom Shelton donated a house and lot at the intersection of First Street and Avenue D. The house was remodeled and opened as the Shelton Memorial Library. On October 9, 1969 the library moved to 111 West Higgins Street. It received the name Octavia Fields Memorial Library from Octavia Fields, the grandmother of Jack Fields, a former Congress member. The current 15,000 square foot branch opened on June 27, 2001.[12]
Points of interest
The exit ramp for Downtown Humble on U.S. Highway 59- Pam Lychner Unit, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice state jail for men, is located in Atascocita in unincorporated northeast Harris County, east of Humble. The state jail was named after Pam Lychner.[13][14]
- Humble Negro Cemetery
- DeLorean Motor Company (DMC), manufacturer of the DeLorean DMC-12, a sports car made famous by the movie Back to the Future, has its only remaining private factory based in Humble.[15]
Notable natives and residents
- Jackie Battle, running-back for the Dallas Cowboys and later the Kansas City Chiefs [16][17]
- Noted German movie star Franka Potente spent some months as an exchange student in Humble at age 17.
Literary references
Humble is the site of a Confederate concentration camp in Harry Turtledove's alternate history novel Settling Accounts: In at the Death.
Gallery
|
Humble Municipal Court |
Humble Criminal Justice Center and Humble Police Department |
Harris County Courthouse Annex No. 3 |
Hirsch Memorial Park |
|
E. A. Squatty Lyons Health Center |
References
- ^ "US Census Bureau Population Finder: Humble city, TX". factfinder.census.gov. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=humble&_cityTown=humble&_state=04000US48&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&show_2003_tab=&redirect=Y. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Branch Office Locations." Harris County Tax Office. Accessed October 13, 2008.
- ^ "Dedicated to Squatty." Houston Chronicle. Monday June 3, 1991. A13.
- ^ "Post Office Location - HUMBLE." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 8, 2008.
- ^ "Post Office™ Location - FOXBROOK." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on May 30, 2010.
- ^ "Foxbrook Finance Post Office in Humble to be Dedicated in Honor of Texas Military Veterans." United States Postal Service. November 5, 2008. Retrieved on May 30, 2010.
- ^ Texas Education Code, Section 130.191, "North Harris Montgomery Community College System District Service Area".
- ^ "History." North Harris Montgomery Community College District. December 22, 2002. Retrieved on April 5, 2010.
- ^ "Octavia Fields Branch Library." Harris County Public Library. Retrieved on November 29, 2008.
- ^ "Saluting Employees January/February 2003." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 12, 2008.
- ^ "Lychner (AJ)." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 12, 2008.
- ^ "[1]."
- ^ Houston Cougars bio
- ^ Kansas City Chiefs bio
External links
| Houston portal |
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
Categories: Cities in Texas | Greater Houston | Harris County, Texas
|
