The city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas was founded in 1837 after Augustus and John Allen had acquired land to establish a new town at the junction of Buffalo and White Oak bayous in 1836. Houston served as the temporary capital of the Republic of Texas. Meanwhile, the town developed as a regional transportation and commercial hub. Houston was part of an independent nation until 1846 when the United States formally annexed Texas. Railroad development began in the late 1850s but ceased during the American Civil War. Houston served the Confederacy as a regional military logistics center. The population increased during the war and blockade runners used the town as a center for their operations.
Investment and development of railroads serving Houston increased the transportation options for freight and passengers while greatly increasing the number of jobs. The city limits extended to an area north of Buffalo Bayou after the American Civil War. Houston continued as an important business, social, and economic center of Texas, while establishing the first State Fair starting in 1870 and continuing through 1878.
The population surpassed 58,000 in 1900, the same year as the Great Hurricane struck Galveston. Within a few years, oil companies were establishing offices in Houston to administer oil fields in East Texas. In 1912, the Rice Institute opened its doors on its suburban campus, the first institute of higher learning in the Houston area. Several tall buildings were completed that year, including those used for offices and residences. Tax Commissioner Joseph Jay Pastoriza gained national notoriety for his property tax reform, though it was later invalidated by the Texas Supreme Court. Around this time Houston started drawing immigrants from Mexico, a trend continuing into the 1920s. Many settled in the Second Ward. During this period, the city developed Hermann Park. Houston gained national prominence when it hosted the Democratic National Convention in 1928.
Before 1836
The region known as Houston is located on land that was once home of the Karankawa (kə rang′kə wä′,-wô′,-wə) and the Atakapa (əˈtɑːkəpə) indigenous peoples for at least 2,000 years before the first known settlers arrived. However, the land remained largely uninhabited until settlement in the 1830s.
Republic of Texas, 18361845
On the heels of the Texas Revolution, two real estate promoters who had arrived in Texas in 1832, John Kirby Allen and Augustus Chapman Allen, were seeking a new town site within the Galveston Bay navigation system. They had invested in Galveston already, but they continued to make offers for other tracts in the region. They bid on land at Morgan's Point and Harrisburg before settling on the eventual Houston site. On August 26, 1836, they purchased half a league of land, or about 2,214 acres (27 km2) from Elizabeth (Mrs. T. F. L.) Parrot, John Austin's widow for $5,000. Four days later, the Allen brothers placed an advertisement in the Telegraph and Texas Register for the paper town of Houston. Gail Borden and his assistant Moses Lapham conducted preliminary surveying work in October, taking field notes and laying stakes. Meanwhile, John Allen was back in Columbia lobbying members of Texas Congress to designate the not yet surveyed town and promising to construct government buildings. On November 30, a special joint session of Congress considered fifteen possible locations for the next seat of government. On the first ballot, ten of these locations garnered votes, but Houston gained a majority of votes on the fourth ballot.