hokieone Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 My sister was looking for a good, detailed book on how the city got settled, as well as how the 6 different wards came to be and progressed. Anyone have any good ones they know of? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 I love Wikipedia, this will be better and more current than any book you will read. Enjoy! Wikipedia's entry on the 6 Wards of Houston! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyps Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 in the process of researching my home...I keep getting hit with a BUNCH of stuff on Germans and the early settlers. There is a book on ebay right now about that very topic....60 bucks though, or I might have bought it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57Tbird Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 My sister was looking for a good, detailed book on how the city got settled, as well as how the 6 different wards came to be and progressed. Anyone have any good ones they know of?Try this... Houston History Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gonzo1976 Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 My sister was looking for a good, detailed book on how the city got settled, as well as how the 6 different wards came to be and progressed. Anyone have any good ones they know of?I recently put up a blog item about books focusing on Houston History. Most of them can be found at any bookstore in town.http://bayoucityhistory.blogspot.com/2006/...art-1-of-2.htmlThe link provided earlier in this thread goes to one of the best books about Houston history. Copies can be somewhat hard to come by because it's out of print, but you'll find one on eBay or Amazon every so often.While not the best, Marguerite Johnston's "Houston: The Unknown City" is widely available at most bookstores, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 (edited) http://bayoucityhistory.blogspot.com/2006/...art-1-of-2.htmlWhat a great blog, I am impressed she has so much good info. Edited July 11, 2006 by Pumapayam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heights2Bastrop Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 (edited) This is my favorite book on Houston. I have read it numerous times, and each time I am amazed by the history. If you want to know what makes Houston the city it is, and to truly understand the Heart of the city, this is a must read!Houston, the Unknown City, 1836-1946 Edited July 11, 2006 by Heights2Bastrop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 there are several books i use for reference, all together cover the basics...Historic Houston, Betty Trapp ChapmanHouston: a History, David G. McCombA Houston Legacy, Marie Phelps McAshanRay Miller's HoustonHouston: Land of the Big Rich, George FuermannHouston Electric, Steven M. BaronHouston: A History of a Giant, Jim HuttonHouston: The Unknown City, Marguerite JohnstonHouston Freeways, Erik SlotboomHouston Women, Betty Trapp Chapmanand Houston Then and Now is neat to look at Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heights2Bastrop Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 You might want to check this out. I found the book on Ebay for $9 including shipping. Houston: The Unknown City Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 You might want to check this out. I found the book on Ebay for $9 including shipping. Houston: The Unknown Cityfor whoever wants that book, it is a great deal! half price will sell it to you for half the cover exactly - about 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 A good one that is mentioned in gonzo's excellent blog is "Houston's Forgotten Heritage: Landscapes, Houses, Interiors: 1824-1914". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashikaga Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 A good one that is mentioned in gonzo's excellent blog is "Houston's Forgotten Heritage: Landscapes, Houses, Interiors: 1824-1914".Texas gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman has written many books about Texas. Did he write one about the city of Houston? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 (edited) Peter Marzio, director of the MFAH and a Ph.D. in sociology, once said that while there are probably 300 quality histories of the city of Chicago, there's not a single one about Houston.A bit harsh, but I would have to agree that there really isn't a history of Houston that captures the growth and development of this city. McComb's book might be the closest thing to a formal history, but it seems more like a collection of facts than a real narrative. Marguerite Johnston's book captures the color that McComb misses, but there's no skeleton - just disconnected scenes of cultural life, and it deals almost exclusively with the elite set.I think the best bet might be to read T. R. Fehrenbach's Lone Star. It's a history of Texas, not Houston, but very little of Houston's history can be told separately from the rest of Texas, and Fehrenbach's writing is first-rate. Another great document is the Federal Writers' Project guide to Houston from the early 40's, which is nearly impossible to find but thankfully is online, at the link in 57TBird's post above. A hard copy can be found in the Texas Room at the Houston Public Library, and is well worth an afternoon there. Edited July 27, 2006 by H-Town Man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
templehouston Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 There is a website that displays old postcards of Houston. You might find it interesting. It's called "Carl Seiler's Houston through antique postcards."http://overanalysis.org/postcards/houtoc.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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