Firebird65

Yes, upon review and once again looking at the plat to my subdivision, you are dead on in your assumption about the location of the Martin Snell survey. I din't know at first what these numbers meant when I saw them on the plat, but now that I see this map, it is quite clear. The section of Northline Terrace that I grew up in, Section 2, is Lot 118 of the Martin Snell Survey, which as is shown on the map you provided, is the large lot on the western edge of the survey south of the bayou and north of the "graded road" which is (or will be) West Gulf Bank. That means the north/south road on the left is Airline. It's very tough to make out, but it appears to say "East Montgomery" which was another name for Airline. I couldn't make it out very well, but that has to be what is says. That also means that the road on the right is, as you had said, Hardy. Interesting that is is denoted as Conroe County Graded Road. At least that's what it appears to say, but it's very hard to make out. And now I also see the railroad tracks you had alluded to. Taking your information and the info provided earlier by Mark, it would seem that Martin K. Snell was a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto who was given a grant of of land in north central Harris County after his service at San Jacinto. According to the Texas Land Grant database, apparently Snell patented the land to John Fitzgerald in 1847. Sometime between 1847 and 1921, W.L. Hill came into control of the land. Hill, apparently a land speculator, divided the land and filed a map in 1921. From info I've found, sometime between 1921 and 1945, Lot 118 was purchased by Tommy Okabayashi. Some in the neighborhood say this took place in 1932. HCAD says Okabayashi built a house at 351 West Gulf Bank in 1945 (which HCAD says is W.L. Hill Lot 116 - right across the street!) Sometime around 1963 or 1964, Okabayashi sold the 78-acre Lot 118 to the Oak Glen Building Company. Oak Glen Building Company took W.L. Hill Lot 118 and combined it with a 111-acre D. Hacker Survey tract to create Northline Terrace. Thanks to info I found at UH tonight, Surburban Homes began marketing the 111-acre Hacker Survey tract in May 1964 as Northline Terrace Section 1. (Actually, the intial ad from the May 3, 1964 Houston Post simply calls the new neigborhood Northline). Sometime in late 1965 early 1966, Suburban Homes opened the Hill Survey Lot 118 as Northline Terrace Sections 2 and 3. My parents bought their home in early 1966. Wow... it's like a puzzle. And it looks like a picture is emerging. Thanks so much for all your help!

If the "Conroe County Graded Road" is Airline Drive, then yes, I can make out where my neighborhood is, er, I mean, will be. It appears it would at least parts of the areas marked as 69 through 74.

Isn't the internet just the coolest thing there is! Awesome. Thanks for the interesting and illuminating reply!

I looked at that link and further down on the page it also listed Channel 23 KTVP, Houston TX. Never heard of it either. There's also Channel 29, KXYZ. Never heard of it. (KXYZ was the original callsign for Channel 13). Finally, Channel 39, KNUZ, which I do know about and was the actual DuMont affiliate in Houston for a breif period in the 1950s.

I was doing some research yesterday at UH and while scrolling through newspapers from September 1968, I came across the daily TV listings. I found what I expected: KPRC-TV - Channel 2 (NBC) KUHT-TV - Channel 8 (Public) KHOU-TV - Channel 11 (CBS) KTRK-TV - Channel 13 (ABC) KHTV-TV - Channel 39 (Ind) and... KVVV-TV - Channel 16 (Ind) Huh? Apparently this station wasn't around long, as I didn't see it in the September 1967 listings nor in the September 1969 listings (I'm looking up football scores, which is why it's always September). Anyone know anything about this short-lived station? I looked over some of the listings and they had a cool sci-fi movie playing the night I looked up.

It took me a moment to find it, but I went to the Chronicle's archives, typed in Aldine, Judy Williams, North Forest. I remember Judy Williams as being Aldine's person quoted in the story. It came back as a story from 12/19/88 under the headline "Troubled N. Forest ISD may face uncertain future". Here are the relevant paragraphs: But if North Forest did lose its accreditation and funding, a neighboring school district could absorb it. There are two ways another school district can adopt children from a defunct district, said Kirby. Consolidation between the defunct district and another school district is one way to ensure children are educated, but that takes a majority vote by both school districts' residents, said Kirby. Politics and the financial burden of absorbing another district would affect whether a consolidation took place. One of the reasons an adopting school district would be a white knight is because it wouldn't be taking over the educating of North Forest children for any great financial reward, said John Privett with the Tax Research Association, a local watchdog organization. North Forest is a property-poor district. "I don't think it (North Forest) would be attractive, but I think a district would maybe (absorb it) in an effort to do the right thing and deliver a good education," Privett said. The other, longer way for the children to be transferred to another district would be for North Forest to abolish itself and send out word - through the Commissioners Court - that its children needed an educational benefactor, said Kirby. Even though the school district would no longer exist, the surrounding districts are under no obligation to educate the children, said Kirby. If none of the districts wants to absorb North Forest, he said, the individual parents would have to shop for a school willing to educate their children - at least for a year. After a school district has been abolished for 12 months, Kirby said he can declare the district a "dormant district" and request the county Commissioners Court to assign the children of a defunct district to any one or several nearby districts regardless of the wishes of the adopting district.

Thanks, Mark. That explains a lot. Especially why I kept seeing 1476 acres on the patents.

You may be right about it not being anyone's choice about who gets the school district when it dissolves. I didn't post this originally because I'm not sure how accurate it is, but I seem to remember reading a story in the Chronicle about the possibility of North Forest ISD dissolving and the potential ramifications to the students and the schools. As I said, I may (and probably don't) have this accurate, but seems to me that I recall reading that the state forces the neighboring school districts into dividing the defunct district. The story interviewed spokespersons from both Aldine and Humble and neither seemed too happy about taking on portions of North Forest. From the Post and Chronicle stories I've read, the shop building, the field house and the gymnasium were the only structures to survive, and that's because none of these were connected to the original school. Perhaps these are those buildings? Anyone know? The gymnasium was a fairly new structure, replacing an earlier 1936 building that burned down in 1948. Guess they didn't have sprinklers back then. I actually have the Aldine fire story from the 11/26/54 Houston Post in front of me right now. Some message boards frown on reposting newspaper articles. I'll post it here for your enjoyment, but if there's a problem with copyright, I'll gladly remove it. I know the Chronicle (the owner of the Post's copyrights) is really funny about what you can do with their material. Sure don't want to violate anyone's copyright. SCHOOL OFFICIALS HUNTING NEW HOME AFTER ALDINE HIGH BURNS Houston Post

Wow! I recognize a few of those names. Obviously Martin K. Snell, of course, but also W.S. Novell (that's where the original Aldine High stands) and Simon Contreras (where the current one stands). Also Thomas Nellis. I take it then that the surveys aren't named for surveyors, as I had thought, but for landowners, is that right? That would mean the D. Hacker and W.L. Hill surveys, which appear from that map to be a subdivision of part of Martin Snell are named for people who later bought land from either Snell or Fitzgerald, is that a resonable assumption at this point? And finally, what does "patented" mean in regards to land grants? Is a patentee the same thing as a grant holder?

thanks! I know some of what you've posted. For example, I have seen the plat of my subdivision (Northline Terrace, Section 2), so I know it's based on the Martin K. Snell Survey for my section and the W.L. Hill Survey for Section 3. I also know the developer (Oak Glen Building Company). When I looked in that database you provided, I found Martin K. Snell listed as the original grantee and the patentee of John Fitzgerald for 1476 acres on September 18, 1847. So... A) Did I do this correctly? If so, is it then fair (based on what I've provided) to say that Martin K. Snell was the original owner of the land my parents' house sat on and that he sold or transferred it to John Fitzgerald in 1847? C) And if so, that between 1847 and 1964, Fitzgerald or his heirs either subdivided and sold it at various times until it eventually became Northline Terrace? Thanks again for your help!

Great work, isuredid. If I go through the deed records looking for who owned the land that my parents' house sat on, what kind of information do I need? I have the address if course, and the lot number, but what I'm looking for is who owned the land BEFORE the subdivision was built as far back as I can find. How can I do that and is it something that can be done online or do I need to go downtown?

Here you go. HUFSMITH, TEXAS. Hufsmith, on Farm Road 2978 and the International-Great Northern railroad north of Tomball in extreme northern Harris County, was founded in 1872 as a station stop midway on the line from Spring to Navasota. It was named for Frank Huffsmith, a railroad superintendent. Local farmers grew cotton and potato crops. Early residents were blacks who came after the Civil War,qv among them Anderson King, a former slave who gave land for a school. In 1905 the school had fifty black students and one teacher. A Hufsmith post office operated from 1902 until the 1980s. In 1914 Hufsmith had a population of 150, four general stores, and a cotton gin. In 1936 the community had two churches, a school, and a sawmill. In 1940 the population was 250. In 1963 the community had a tavern, a liquor store, a laundry, a cafe, and two gas stations; by the 1980s only a cemetery, an abandoned railroad station, and scattered dwellings remained, but the population of the community was still reported at 250 in 2000. BIBLIOGRAPHY: The Heritage of North Harris County (n.p: North Harris County Branch, American Association of University Women, 1977). Vertical Files, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin. Diana J. Kleiner

Could someone please tell me what I'm doing wrong?!? Every time I try to post a pic, I get an error message that says dynamic sites are not allowed. I am using imagevenue.com. How does one post a pic on this site? All I can do is post links.

What a great find! Wonder what became of that? I don't see any such streets with those names today. I'll have to compare that with the Harris County block books to see if the names have been changed. That appears to have happened alot. I saw a block book wher Aldine Mail Route was called White Avenue, or something like that. I didn't write it down so that may be incorrect. But it was definitely called something else at one time.

Perhaps one of the most enduring question in Houston is: Where is Mount Houston? Most people always thought it was that goofy ski slope on the SW Freeway at Loop 610 that didn't last long. Me? I always envisioned it was a pile of used tires somewhere. You know, you may want necessarily want to discount that map. Yes, they mispelled Balaban Plaza as Balasan, but I can't be certain they are wrong in this case. I contend it is wrong and believe it is incorrect, however, I can't say that with 100% certainty. It is possible that it could have been known as Westbrook for a short time. I personally doubt it, but that's why I sometimes end my posts with the saying "if anyone can add to this..." just in case the fault is with me.

Background on area roads Airline Drive - so named because supposedly that's the path a crow would fly to Dallas in an "air line." Doesn't make sense to me but... Airline was originally the road to Dallas from Houston. It has also been known as East Montgomery Road. In 1917, Texas designated it as State Highway 19. In 1927, control passed from the state to the federal governement and Airline was redesignated U.S. Highway 75. In 1944, U.S. 75 was changed to the newly opened section of North Shepherd Drive (which today lies under I-45). Airline Drive was redesignated as L149, a designation which apparently was dropped sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Beltway 8 North - opened as a frontage road in 1970 from the North Freeway to the Eastex Freeway, providing access to the new Intercontinental Airport. At crossover intersections, such as Hardy and Aldine Bender, overpasses were built to allow drivers to bypass stop signs and traffic lights. In 1984, the portion from I-45 east to JFK Blvd was upgraded to full freeway status. However, the interchange at 1-45 was not fully completed until 2003. Sam Houston Tollway North - a small frontage road only segment opened in the late 1980s from I-45 west to Ella Blvd. In 1990, the full freeway tollroad opened from I-45 west to U.S. 290. Aldine Bender - date opened unknown. Portion from Hardy west to Airline was referred to simply as Aldine Road. Portion from Hardy east to the present U.S. 59 was called Aldine Bender because it connected the communities of Aldine and Bender. In 1945, Texas designated the roadway as F.M. 525. In 1995, this designation was amended to Urban Road 525. Tomball Parkway - The Tomball Parkway has had many designations, names and paths throughout the years. When the road first opened is unknown, however, it was originally called West Montgomery Road. In 1949, the state of Texas redesignated West Montgomery Road from its origin at Tidwell and North Shepherd north to Tomball as F.M. 149, which was already an existing F.M. road north of the town. In 1988, the state redesignated the road north of Breen as State Highway 249 and upgraded it. In 1997, the portion north of the Sam Houston Tollway (out of the Aldine ISD) was updgraded to freeway status nad given the name Tomball Parkway. West Mount Houston - West Mount Houston was originally known as Airline Link Road and extended from West Montgomery Road (F.M. 149) to Stuebner Airline. In 1956, the road was extended to Halls Bayou, just east of U.S. 75 (North Shepherd). The state designated the road as F.M. 2430. In 1960, the state rerouted F.M. 149 along Airline Link Road and changed West Montgomery Road to F.M. 2430 from Tidwell/North Shepherd to Airline Link. In 1962 the road was extended over Halls Bayou to connect it with Airline Drive, although F.M. 149 designation stopped at U.S. 75. Apparently at this time the road from Airline west to West Montgomery was changed to West Mount Houston. West Road - Have heard this road was named for a local farmer, but have no idea when it started. North Freeway - In 1944, North Shepherd was extended from Tidwell north to Aldine Bender. U.S. 75 was moved from Airline to North Shepherd. In 1963, the North Freeway was built over the section north of Canino and redesignated as Interstate 45. Interestingly enough, several businesses along the new North Freeway still identified themselves as being on North Shepherd Drive into the 1970s. Stuebner Airline - Start date unknown. In 1984, the portion through AISD from North Shepherd to F.M. 1960 was renamed Veterans' Memorial Drive. Hill Road - Appears to have been named for W.L. Hill who conducted a survey of the area. Sweetwater Lane - Originally called Hacker Road, apparently after D. Hacker, who did a survey of the area. Around 1965 Hacker Road became Sweetwater Lane. West Nellis Road - another street named for a surveyor. If anyone can add to this list, by all means, help yourself... Yes, I've seen that same story about the mural and about how apparently some soldiers moved through there on their way to San Jacinto. The mural is on the side of Casa Linda restaurant on Airline at Buckboard. Oddly, although I grew up in the area, I've never eaten there. One of the soldiers from San Jacinto, John Frederick Schlobohm returned to the area after the battle of San Jacinto and was one of the first settlers in the Aldine area, building a homestead on Greens Bayou, according the Aldine ISD web site.

I live on the westside now and have driven through the middle of Howellville and never known it. How about that! Thanks for the update.

Yeah, I doubt that story about it being named after a farmer, too. There's a historical marker on Aldine Bender that states most of the families living in the area were of Swedish descent and Aldine doesn't sound very Swedish to me. I think it most likely that Aldine was named after the Kansas town of the same name. But that then brings up the question: What was Aldine, Kansas named for? LOL! BTW, if you grew up in the area as I did and wondered about the name of the road Aldine Bender and more specifically, what was the Bender part of Aldine Bender, there's an answer to that. Bender was a community located, naturally enough, at the other end of Aldine Bender about where the road intersects with the Eastex Freeway. Early rural roads were often named for their terminal points, so Aldine Bender was the road going from Aldine to Bender, Aldine Westfield was the name of the road from Aldine to Westfield. Addicks-Howell on the westside went from Addicks to Howell (wherever that was) and so on.

That's the prevailing story, but there are those who doubt it. Some other folks say the town was named after the Aldine Press in renaissance Italy, but that's really farfetched. The Houston Chronicle ran a story on april 14, 2005 where the Reeves family, descendents of some of the early settlers in the area, talked about some of the ideas on how the area got its name. Here's the quote: Name's a mystery One story claims that early railroad conductors inadvertently named the town by shouting, "All dine!" when early trains stopped for passengers to eat in the area, formerly known as Prairie Switch. Carolyn dismisses that explanation, which has not been documented. The Reeves have heard of other possibilities. Some people told them the area was named for an early pioneer. Others believe settlers named Aldine after a Kansas town with the same name. But these accounts also are undocumented, Carolyn said. Maybe the last one seems the most plausible, but who really knows? As Carolyn Reeves mentions, the town was originally called Prairie Switch, starting in 1873. Before that, supposedly it was called Greens. I've seen an 1883 map that refers to Prairie (Switch was left off) along the International-Great Northern Railroad 13 miles north of Houston between Crosstimbers and Westfield. A 1900 map shows it as Aldine, so when exactly the name change took place, I don't know. However, what's sorta strange is that, technically, the area we are discussing in this thread - the area in the picture at the top - isn't really Aldine at all. There isn't an offical name for this area even though Aldine High School is in it. Specifically, Aldine (the town as plannned) was the area at Hardy and Aldine Bender. If you look on the 1964 map posted earlier, it shows a small grid of streets at that locale. The original schools were built just to the east at Aldine Bender and Aldine Westfield. You can also say the Aldine community could be considered everything from Greens Bayou south to Aldine Mail Route and from Lillja on the west to Aldine Westfield on the east. Those aren't even in the photo. The Aldine School district cuts a 111 square mile swath of land across north Harris County, but that includes several other communities with their own histories - some still around, some long since absorbed by Houston and vanished into history. The closest actual community to Northline Terrace wasn't Aldine, but Brubaker, which joined with Aldine, Westfield and the long vanished township of Higgs to form Common School District #29 (AISD after 1935) in 1932. Brubaker was around where Aldine Mail Route and Airline intersect, although I haven't found an exact location. I've seen a small effort lately to classify the area in the photo east of I-45 to Hardy from Canino to Aldine Bender as "Airline." That's the basis of the name for the Airline Community Improvement District started last year. The reason is, they explain, that Airline forms the "Main Street" of the area. There is an Aldine Community Improvement District and it consists of the area from Hardy east to the Eastex Freeway from about Little York north to the Beltway. Both districts split the original Aldine area, but also include other neighborhoods as well. In my report, I intend to call the area where the original Aldine High School (aka Marrs) as Aldine. When I talk about the area I grew up in and where Aldine High relocated, I'll call that Aldine/Airline. Unless someone has something better. I'm all up for ideas... which is why I'm here.

Haven't gotten around to asking them yet. I'm still compiling football scores and stories. 70 years worth of football takes awhile to look up Good thing I don't have a life! The district and local area histories are filler materials to make for a more rounded story, so I'll probsbly do those last. Still, in the course of looking up football info, I have picked up some of the nuggets I posted above and throughout the thread. Once I get through with the football, I'll focus exclusively on the other facets of Aldine life... provided, of course, I ever get through.

Incomplete list of Aldine ISD Superintendents If anyone can complete the list, by all means... S.F. Fenton - was superintendent in 1936 (start and end dates unknown) J.S. "Johnnie" Elsik - was superintendent in 1954 (start and end dates unknown) W.W. Thorne - 1958 to 1973 M.O. Campbell - 1973 to 1986 M.B. "Sonny" Donaldson - 1986 to 2001 Nadine Kujawa - 2001 to present If no one knows any other superintendents, I'd just settle for this: What's up with all the initials? LOL! Was that some kind of prerequisite for the job at one time? Incomplete list of AISD Athletic Directors If you know of others, please feel free to add... Swede Lee - ? to 1979 Elliot Lansford - 1979 to 1990 Joe Young - 1990 to 2003 Darryl Wade - 2003 to present Incomplete list of Aldine H.S. principals Same as above... if you can add to this, by all means have at it... J.E. Borden - 1936 to ? M.B. "Sonny" Donaldson - 1974 to 1978 Vernon Lewis - 1978 to 1986 Ralph Norman - 1986 to 1998 Ron Galindo - 1998 to 2003 Cecil Hutson - 2003 to present Aldine Mustang Head Football Coaches Arnold Orsak - 1936 to 1946 Bruce Kivell - 1947 to 1953 Billy Cooper - 1954 to 1961 Larry Rice - 1962 to 1965 Hugh Harkridger - 1966 to 1967 Barton Massey - 1968 to 1974 Bill Smith - 1975 to 2003 Bob Jones - 2003 to present

What does this mean when you're trying to post a picture on the board? Sorry, dynamic pages in the tags are not allowed I loaded a map on imagevenue then tried to download it here using the "Insert Image" button. I copied the url and when I hit "Add Reply" that's what I got. What in the world is a "dynamic page"??? It will let me insert a link, but not an image: AISD Map It's a satellite image of the Aldine ISD. I photoshopped in the district boundaries and some other info. KEY Red Line - Current Aldine ISD boundary Blue Line - Aldine High School area (the area covered in my history report) White Line - Aldine Township Green Line - Northline Terrace Subdivision (Sections 1-3) AISD High Schools Past and Present 1 - Aldine High School (1956

The Lucky 7 Supermarket (aka the Fairview Supermarket) was at W Gulf Bank and Airline, just off the right of the pic. To my knowledge, it was the first supermarket in the area in question. Today it is some kind of auto repair shop and unless you knew it was a grocery store, you'd never be able to guess it now. I looked it up in the old phone books in the Texas Room. Unfortunately, I can't now decipher my notes. On one page I have it being there (meaning having a phone number) in 1956. Yet on another page, I say it has a phone number in 1951. Oops! Which is right? For some reason I keep thinking it only became a Lucky 7 in 1956 and was simply called Fairview before that. But I somehow neglected to right that down. That was smart! If you never went in there, count yourself as... pardon the pun... lucky. The neighbor who carpooled me to elementary school wold often stop there when she didn't have time to fix her kid lunch. I remember two things about the place. One was the cool sign the owner put on the courtesy booth that said the store was protected five days a week by Smith and Weston... you guess which days. LOL! Second was the gawdaful smell in the place. It was like they hadn't cleaned the place since the 1950s... be it 1951 or 1956! As for the Kroger, I worked there in high school and college. My mom shopped there since it opened and a lady at our old church worked there from 1968 to the day it closed, including when I was there. She knows all about it. I remember the Piggly Wiggly not because we shopped there but because... don't laugh... I thought it was Porky Pig's store. LOL! What can I say... I was a kid. As for W.W. Thorne... is the guy still alive? The Harris County Appraisal District still lists him as the owner of his house, but I figure the guy's gotta be close to 90.

At first I thought that map was from much earlier than 1964 based on how the original one you posted had both Aldine Sr and Jr Highs next to each other on Aldine Bender. I was considering the possibility that Alamo High was the intended name for the possible proposed school that might have been built as a second AISD high school, but that ended up being a replacement for the original Aldine High when it burned. But upon looking at your latest segment, I know now that the year 1964 is correct. The reason is that is shows the Hacker/Sweetwater bridge over Halls Bayou, which a sign on the bridge says was constructed at that same time. If you look very closely at the 1959 picture, you can see there is no bridge there. However, looking at the rest of each map, there are numerous errors, which makes for a great post on your part because it's always fun to find goofs on a map or in a book or movie. Discounting for changes that could have taken place as the map was being printed... the obvious errors in fact are: Balasan Plaza should be Balaban Plaza Aldine Senior High is in the wrong place Alamo Senior High is actually Aldine High W Mt Houston at I-45 isn't drawn right that's not the way the roadway runs. Plus it's identified as Westbrook, which is a different street. Frazerlane St is actually Frazer St Things that might be errors or simple changes made after the map was printed: Houston Gardens - I've never heard of such a neighborhood Contreras Estates - Another neighborhood I've never heard of. However, this could have been the working name for Imperial Valley as the name appears over at least part of the area the will be occupied by IV. The name Contreras stems from the 1846 Simon Contreras land survey which you can find mentioned on plats of the area. Aldine Road - I believe Aldine Road had already been renamed as Aldine Bender by this time, but I could well be wrong on this one. Hidden Valley Section 8 - that is the part of the neighborhood south of W Gulf Bank. That wasn't built until 1972 - 1974, so what's it doing on that map, I don't know. Perhaps it was originally to be built earlier, but the developer changed his mind. W Gulf Bank - this road wasn't a divided road with an esplande east of I-45 as the map shows. Still, who knows who drew the map, where they were when they drew it or what information they gathered when preparing it. Could be honest mistakes, things that changed after they published it or maybe they never figured a couple of people would be dissecting it on a Saturday afternoon via the Internet 42 years later! Thanks for posting it.

That's an interesting map, to say the least. Where did you get it? There are numerous discepancies that either were planned and never came to pass or are just outright errors on the part of the mapmaker. Too many to list now. I've got to pick up the dog from the groomers. When I come back, I'll go into more detail. But I'd love to see more of that map, particularly just a bit to the south, where Northline Terrace and Hidden Valley are. Gotta run... wife's giving me the evil eye...