Halls Bayou And Greens Bayou

[Guest Marty]

You all did a great job with Brays Bayou I thought i would throw this question out there. Halls @ Greens Bayou who named them? Harris County

[Firebird65]

They both connect at the ship channel.

Actually, only Greens Bayou goes to the Ship Channel. Halls Bayou and Greens Bayou meet just south of Brock Park near the intersection of Green River Road and John Ralston Road (Key Map 456F).

I rode my bike out there one day when I was a kid just to see where they met. You can see the confluence from Green River Road, about a quarter mile north of the bridge. I couldn't get there along the banks of Greens Bayou because on one side the brush was too thick and on the other someone was, no kidding, torching a car in the woods. Needless to say I didn't hang around. LOL!

Since I saw where Halls Bayou ended, a week later I tried to figure out where it started. According to the Key Map, it started just west of Veterans Memorial north of West Mount Houston. I rode over there, hopped the fence (don't tell anyone I went right past the "No Trespassing" sign) and found the bayou. I figured I probably find some kind of springs or something, but instead the bayou straightened out into a ditch that stretched as far as I could see. Just north of where the bayou straighted, another ditch intersected it coming from a trailer park from the west.

I presume the spot where the bayou straighted just south of the intersecting ditches was the start of the bayou. If you look in Key Map 412E you'll see where I'm talking about. At the 9700 block of Veterans Memorial there's an unnamed road going west. Tou can see where the bayou goes from a blue filled line to a thin black one. That's where I was.

Edited October 7, 2006 by Firebird65

[Guest Marty]

I been trying to figure out were Halls bayou got its name for years. But i think someone on here will solve the mystery.

[isuredid]

I think this will show that Greens Bayou was named for George Green, but what is interesting about this deed record is that they mention the land is "on the headwaters of the south fork of Greens Bayou". What they are really talking about here is Halls Bayou. What I found was that Halls Bayou, for a long time, was called the south fork of Greens Bayou. I saw that reference all the way up to 1877.

Edited October 12, 2006 by isuredid

[Guest Marty]

Wow that's awesome Thanks isuredid.

Edited October 12, 2006 by Marty

[isuredid]

This was the first deed I saw in the area sold to someone named Hall, but the deed already mentions Halls Bayou, which would make it strange for this to be the right Hall, but not out of the question:

Here is the Terrell Survey deed recorded in 1871. This is the same land referred to in the above deed and this one still calls Halls Bayou the South Fork of Greens Bayou:

This is the next deed in the series. Potter heirs sold to A.M. Brooks who wanted the land for lumber. A.M. Brooks sold to Z. T. Hogan, who sold some of the land shortly thereafter to A.S. Hall. In 1877 it was still being called the South Fork of Greens Bayou. I think A.S. Hall is the right Hall.

Edited October 12, 2006 by isuredid

[Guest Marty]

That's some great stuff where do you get your resources from?

[isuredid]

That's some great stuff where do you get your resources from?

Harris County Deed Records. The "A" in A.S. Hall, by the way, stood for Archibald. I don't know what the "S" stood for, but if I had to venture a guess I would say Samuel.

I also looked at old maps online and the earliest one I could find that had Hall's Bayou marked was 1888.

Edited October 15, 2006 by isuredid

[isuredid]

Here is a map from 1867 which still shows Halls Bayou labeled as South Fork

[Firebird65]

Here is a map from 1867 which still shows Halls Bayou labeled as South Fork

Interesting map. There's no railroad going through Aldine, as well there shou;dn't be as it wasn't built unitl 1873. But there's no railroad going north at all - only northwest (Austin?) and northeast (Beaumont?)

What are the other things? Roads?

[enviromain]

What are the other things? Roads?

I could be way off, but to me it looks like the following:

I think the northern road heading out of town was Main Street. The west fork of Norht Main St. may have later turned in to Hwy 19 / I-75 (to Huntsville and Dallas) and the east fork may have later been constructed to be State Hwy 35 (to Humble and Shreveport).

The road parallel to the railroad tracks (heading northwest out of Houston) was probably what became Hwy 6, which later forked to into Hwy 73. The road heading west could have been the forerunner for Westheimer Road (to Alief). The southwest road (also paralleling the tracks) might have become Hwy 90 and was also probably the south part of Main Street.

The road heading south could have eventually been State Hwy No. 19 (to Freeport). The road paralleling the Bayou on the east side most likely turned into Navigation Blvd / Hwy 90 (to the ship channel and refineries).

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[gonzo1976]

What are the other things? Roads?

Yeah, more like trails in my opinion.

By 1867, you'd definitely have trails to Harrisburg (Harrisburg Boulevard) and the San Jacinto Battleground.

The others may head out to Katy, Sugar Land, Brazoria County (Freeport maybe), Liberty and Hempstead.

I'm surprised there's no visible trail (other than train tracks) to Galveston.

[isuredid]

Yeah, more like trails in my opinion.

By 1867, you'd definitely have trails to Harrisburg (Harrisburg Boulevard) and the San Jacinto Battleground.

The others may head out to Katy, Sugar Land, Brazoria County (Freeport maybe), Liberty and Hempstead.

I'm surprised there's no visible trail (other than train tracks) to Galveston.

You would be surprised. I think those were real roads rather than trails. Folks needed to be able to bring their agricultural products to Houston.

This map is not very accurate as far as the placement of the RR and roads, but this is what I think:

the RR going NW would have been the Houston and Texas Central and the road alongside would have been the Washington County Road, later the Hempstead Highway and now 290.

The road heading north would have been the Old Montgomery County Road and the west fork would be West Montgomery County Road (Airline).

The road going west would have been the San Felipe road

The road going SW along the RR would have been the Richmond/Fort Bend County road.

I'm not sure what that road heading South was called, but will try to find out.

[Firebird65]

The road heading north would have been the Old Montgomery County Road and the west fork would be West Montgomery County Road (Airline).

Actually the west fork wouldn't be Airline. The east fork, which doesn't appear on this map, would be Airline. Remember, that's the one (East Montgomery Road) you found where B.F. Brubaker had done a survey and filed plat in 1910. That's the road that later became Airline and State Hwy 19 and then later U.S. 75. West Montgomery Road was the one that became F.M. 149.

[Mark F. Barnes]

Here's the 1873 Railroad Map of the area

Perhaps the fime dotted line to the north on the earlier map is the proposed RR route!

[Firebird65]

Perhaps the fime dotted line to the north on the earlier map is the proposed RR route!

sounds like a reasonable assumption. I hadn't even noticed the dotted line until you ssaid something. Now I see it does sorta match.

[isuredid]

This 1840 map makes it look like the left fork of the road leaving Houston from the north is the old road to Washington-on-the-Brazos.

The right fork - looks like part of it would become the old Atascocita road.

The road going west along what would become the Katy Freeway corridor was the road to San Felipe de Austin.

Edited October 16, 2006 by isuredid

[Firebird65]

I guess this is on topic... It really shouldn't be news when Halls Bayou floods at West Mount Houston as it actually floods there when someone leaves the water hose on too long... but man I sure wished I still lived in Northline Terrace. Channel 2 News has a reporter there right now at the bridge at Halls Bayou and West Mount Houston right outside the old Kroger I used to work at. Man, is she HOT!!! Daniella Guzman is her name and if I still lived out that way I'd sure be out there... not sure what I do, though. Is that bad or what?

Think she'd be interested in the history of the area or how Halls Bayou got its name?

I'm thinking she'd probably just push me into the bayou...

Interesting map. First off, obviously Harris County is called Harrisburg. But even the shape of the county is different. Notice how the county extends all the way to near Montgomery.

Also if you look at Cypress Creek, it's called Cypress River. Greens Bayou is just singular (Green rather than Greens) and its called a creek and not a bayou.

[isuredid]

I guess this is on topic... It really shouldn't be news when Halls Bayou floods at West Mount Houston as it actually floods there when someone leaves the water hose on too long... but man I sure wished I still lived in Northline Terrace. Channel 2 News has a reporter there right now at the bridge at Halls Bayou and West Mount Houston right outside the old Kroger I used to work at. Man, is she HOT!!! Daniella Guzman is her name and if I still lived out that way I'd sure be out there... not sure what I do, though. Is that bad or what?

Think she'd be interested in the history of the area or how Halls Bayou got its name?

I'm thinking she'd probably just push me into the bayou...

Interesting map. First off, obviously Harris County is called Harrisburg. But even the shape of the county is different. Notice how the county extends all the way to near Montgomery.

Also if you look at Cypress Creek, it's called Cypress River. Greens Bayou is just singular (Green rather than Greens) and its called a creek and not a bayou.

Not knowing how Hall's Bayou got it's name is probably keeping her and many other people awake at night...its gnawing at them and they can think of little else.

[Firebird65]

Not knowing how Hall's Bayou got it's name is probably keeping her and many other people awake at night...its gnawing at them and they can think of little else.

I always figured that was the case. Just makes sense when you think about it. LOL!

[Mark F. Barnes]

Here is a Hi Res Jpeg of the 1873 TX RR Map if anyine wants it (huge download)

1873 Texas RR Map

[isuredid]

This map from 1888 is the first I could find that showed Halls Bayou

[Firebird65]

That really doesn't show the bayou, but a stop along the railroad. But it's pretty clear that's in about the right spot to be over Halls Bayou. I'm sure you're better at reading deeds than I am... is that about where A.S. Hall's land was?

BTW... notice how there are two Cross Timbers?

Edited October 17, 2006 by Firebird65

[isuredid]

That really doesn't show the bayou, but a stop along the railroad. But it's pretty clear that's in about the right spot to be over Halls Bayou. I'm sure you're better at reading deeds than I am... is that about where A.S. Hall's land was?

BTW... notice how there are two Cross Timbers?

I didn't notice about the two Cross Timbers, but once you mentioned it I did. I am going to repost the survey map I used for the M.K.Snell discussion in the Aldine group. M.B. Terrell is the survey. When I started looking for who Halls Bayou was named after I looked for two things: someone named Hall buying some land in one of the surveys Halls bayou passes through. I knew it couldn't have been the M.K. Snell because that land stayed in the same family till 1924. The first Hall I came to in the deed records that fit was the only one I could find at all that matched the criteria. Because his named started with "A" it meant I would run into A.S. Hall before any others, but it turned out he was the only one I could find to fit the bill anyway.

Edited October 18, 2006 by isuredid