Six Historical Wards

[MontroseNeighborhoodCafe]

Sept. 6, 2004, 7:05PM

Pride lives on in city's six historical wards

Political zones no longer, areas remain vibrant socially, culturally

By JEANNIE KEVER

Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

Houston has always been a contender in the race for better, faster, more: taller buildings, wider freeways, bigger profits.

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But one vestige of the city's history has survived the omnivorous quest for change. A century after the terminology slipped from the official lexicon, people still talk about the wards.

"When you ask me where I'm from, until the day I die I'll say I'm from the Fifth Ward," says Patricia Smith Prather, executive director of the Texas Trailblazer Preservation Association. "I'll never say Houston first."

It's a pride thing. And, loosely, a geography thing.

Most people here have heard of the Second Ward, the Third, Fourth and Fifth Wards

[Astro]

The Fourth Ward is trickier territory. It was the hub of African-American life after the Civil War as freed slaves settled in the area there known as Freedmen's Town. Many of the historical landmarks have been razed in the name of progress

[MidtownCoog]

A good part of "Midtown" was actually formally known as Thrid Ward. But never the Fourth Ward.

The "Midtown" is nothing more than marketing hype a la Charles Le Blanc and Co.

[WestGrayGuy]

This article seems to screw up some facts. The location(boundaries) of the midtown TIRZ do not even intersect Freedman's town. To say they are "rechristening" Freedman's town to midtown is wrong.

If the writer, Jeannie Kever, would do a little research next time, she would discover that they are building a high school smack dab in the middle of Freedman's Town. I am referring to the new High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Instead she quotes someone who says there is, "There is no high school there." All I ask for is factual reporting.

Boo to bad journalism.

[dbigtex56]

I have the regrettable task of telling you y'all full of crap.

The boundries of the Fourth Ward are not disputable. They are historic. They are defined. It include parts of what we now call Downtown, parts of what some people call Montrose, parts of what we now call Midtown, and all of what we now call Freeman's Town.

[Subdude]

I don't have a map in front of me, but I believe the original ward boundries were set up in a quadrant around Main & Texas. The third ward was the sector to the southeast of the intersection, bounded again by Main and Texas, and the fourth ward was the area to the southwest. Later the fifth and sixth wards were established to the north and west. Since the ward boundries wouldn't have extended outside of the city limits, a lot of what we today think of as as Third Ward, Fourth Ward, and Midtown technically wouldn't have been included at all, but if you follow the boundary logic, today's Midtown would have been both Fourth and Third Ward.

"Midtown" is probably hype, as is "Uptown". The name Midtown made sense at one point in that it lies between Downtown and the orignal "Uptown" along South Main.

[UrbaNerd]

Reeee..Develop!

Reeee..Develop!

Re..Develop!

Re..Develop!

Reeee..Deveeeee-eeelop!

[Astro]

I don't have a map in front of me, but I believe the original ward boundries were set up in a quadrant around Main & Texas. 

I believe what I heard at one time was that the ward quadrants were originally set up around the Main & Congress intersection, and later that point was moved a block or two south Main and either Prairie or Texas.

[WestGrayGuy]

A listing from the 1897-98 city directory describes the wards as following:

The First Ward -- the area generally southwest of White Oak Bayou. The directory described it as "bounded by Main Street, White Oak Bayou, Congress Street and Line x commencing at termination of Congress at Buffalo Bayou, and running north 55 degrees west to northwest city limits."

The Second Ward -- generally east of Main and south of Buffalo Bayou. The directory described it as "bounded by Buffalo Bayou, Main, Congress Streets, city limits."

The Third Ward -- south and east of Main and Congress.

The Fourth Ward -- west of Main and south of Buffalo Bayou.

The Fifth Ward -- north and east of Buffalo and White Oak Bayous.

The Sixth Ward -- southwest of the First Ward, bounded by Buffalo Bayou and by the line marking the southwest boundary of the First Ward. The Sixth Ward was formed by splitting the old Fourth Ward much as one would cut a pie.

[VicMan]

If the writer, Jeannie Kever, would do a little research next time, she would discover that they are building a high school smack dab in the middle of Freedman's Town.  I am referring to the new High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Instead she quotes someone who says there is, "There is no high school there."  All I ask for is factual reporting.

Boo to bad journalism.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

However, nobody who lives in the fourth ward is zoned to PVA as PVA is not a "zone" school.

Perhaps they can rechristen the lot of the San Jacinto Building at HCC as a brand new high school..