If You've Wondered How Airline Dr. And Stuebner Airline Rd. Got Their Names

[Firebird65]

Both of these roads came into existence before there were airlines, or air travel, for that matter. So how'd they get their names? A few years back, an author wrote a book on how many historic Houston streets got their names. Airline Drive, the author wrote, got it's name because "that's the route a crow would fly from Houston to Dallas in an air line." Air line in this case means a straight line, not a United or Delta flight. 

 

I've found some backup for that in a 1914 Houston Post story regarding road paving projects. In late 1913 Aldine citizens petitioned the county to pave 12 miles of Hardy Street Road (also known outside the city as the Houston-Conroe County Road) from the city limits to the train depot at Aldine. While we're talking about Hardy and not East Montgomery Road (which will eventually be called Airline), Hardy is described in the story as "an air line road." And, of course, like Airline and Stuebner Airline, it is pretty much a ruler-straight road fro the vast majority of its length.

 

I always thought Airline might have also been a place name. When I grew up in Northline Terrace, near Airline Drive) our phone bill said we were in the Airline exchange. I've seen old maps that describe the North Freeway from Crosstimbers to the Shepherd curve as the Airline Freeway. And Airline Drive and Stuebner Airline Drive were not not far apart. But apparently that was wrong.

 

I thought it was interesting. Hopefully if you read this, you did as well.

[ADCS]

44 minutes ago, Firebird65 said:

Both of these roads came into existence before there were airlines, or air travel, for that matter. So how'd they get their names? A few years back, an author wrote a book on how many historic Houston streets got their names. Airline Drive, the author wrote, got it's name because "that's the route a crow would fly from Houston to Dallas in an air line." Air line in this case means a straight line, not a United or Delta flight. 

 

I've found some backup for that in a 1914 Houston Post story regarding road paving projects. In late 1913 Aldine citizens petitioned the county to pave 12 miles of Hardy Street Road (also known outside the city as the Houston-Conroe County Road) from the city limits to the train depot at Aldine. While we're talking about Hardy and not East Montgomery Road (which will eventually be called Airline), Hardy is described in the story as "an air line road." And, of course, like Airline and Stuebner Airline, it is pretty much a ruler-straight road fro the vast majority of its length.

 

I always thought Airline might have also been a place name. When I grew up in Northline Terrace, near Airline Drive) our phone bill said we were in the Airline exchange. I've seen old maps that describe the North Freeway from Crosstimbers to the Shepherd curve as the Airline Freeway. And Airline Drive and Stuebner Airline Drive were not not far apart. But apparently that was wrong.

 

I thought it was interesting. Hopefully if you read this, you did as well.

 

Yep. "Airline" used to be a pretty common word for what we'd call a "beeline" nowadays, and even that term is falling out of use. Airline Highway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is so named because it followed straight lines between towns, rather than the curves of the Mississippi as the previous highway had done.

[Firebird65]

1 hour ago, ADCS said:

 

Yep. "Airline" used to be a pretty common word for what we'd call a "beeline" nowadays, and even that term is falling out of use. Airline Highway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is so named because it followed straight lines between towns, rather than the curves of the Mississippi as the previous highway had done.

 

Yeah, true. I just found another story that talks about a Webster Airline Road in a 1916 list of Harris County road projects. 

[JLWM8609]

18 hours ago, Firebird65 said:

Both of these roads came into existence before there were airlines, or air travel, for that matter. So how'd they get their names? A few years back, an author wrote a book on how many historic Houston streets got their names. Airline Drive, the author wrote, got it's name because "that's the route a crow would fly from Houston to Dallas in an air line." Air line in this case means a straight line, not a United or Delta flight. 

 

I've found some backup for that in a 1914 Houston Post story regarding road paving projects. In late 1913 Aldine citizens petitioned the county to pave 12 miles of Hardy Street Road (also known outside the city as the Houston-Conroe County Road) from the city limits to the train depot at Aldine. While we're talking about Hardy and not East Montgomery Road (which will eventually be called Airline), Hardy is described in the story as "an air line road." And, of course, like Airline and Stuebner Airline, it is pretty much a ruler-straight road fro the vast majority of its length.

 

I always thought Airline might have also been a place name. When I grew up in Northline Terrace, near Airline Drive) our phone bill said we were in the Airline exchange. I've seen old maps that describe the North Freeway from Crosstimbers to the Shepherd curve as the Airline Freeway. And Airline Drive and Stuebner Airline Drive were not not far apart. But apparently that was wrong.

 

I thought it was interesting. Hopefully if you read this, you did as well.

That is interesting. I always thought Stuebner-Airline got its name because it was the road running between Stuebner, TX and Airline Rd, like Spring-Stuebner was the road running between Spring and Stuebner.

[ADCS]

6 hours ago, JLWM8609 said:

That is interesting. I always thought Stuebner-Airline got its name because it was the road running between Stuebner, TX and Airline Rd, like Spring-Stuebner was the road running between Spring and Stuebner.

 

Looking at old topographic maps, it appears that it was just "Airline" before East Montgomery was renamed to Airline Rd, at which point it became "Steubner-Airline".

[Rex Laxative]

There is an Airline Road in University Park, TX that runs from the SMU campus to just short of Northwest Highway. When I was a student at SMU, the name always intrigued me. I wondered what connection it could have to aviation, as there was no airport in the immediate vicinity. This solves a mystery for me, so thanks. 

[Avossos]

On 12/28/2019 at 3:48 PM, Rex Laxative said:

There is an Airline Road in University Park, TX that runs from the SMU campus to just short of Northwest Highway. When I was a student at SMU, the name always intrigued me. I wondered what connection it could have to aviation, as there was no airport in the immediate vicinity. This solves a mystery for me, so thanks. 

 

Pony Up Rex

[Viktoria]

I believe the word Stuebner goes back to German emigrants who settled in the part of north Houston. Their name probably was Steubner, or Stübner. There is no letter ü in the English alphabet, but in the German one. In the same area "Klein", and several other German names in the area, I believe this is how Stuebner originated . Way back 150 years ago or so. The community around Stuebner Airline and "Klein" very wealthy communities.