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History on
a Pinhead
The town had a post office from 1907 through the middle of the 1930s.
With the development of nearby Klein, Louetta declined – beginning
in the late 1890s, although the community still had two sawmills,
a cotton gin, gristmill and a sugar / syrup manufacturing company
all operating around 1915.
As the Great Depression was just getting started, only 15 residents
were living in Louetta. After WWII
there was hardly anything left but the name and some tombstones.
Today the Memorial Chase subdivision is near the old Louetta
townsite. The name lives on with Louetta Road – with hardly
anyone knowing it was once more than that. |
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The "Lost"
Towns of NW Harris County:
Kohrville | Louetta
| North Houston | Satsuma
If these are ghost towns, why are there so many people here?
Although they now only exist as sign names at large intersections
(Barker-Cypress, Bammel-North Houston, Aldine-Bender, Alief-Clodine,
et. al.). It may surprise non-natives that all of these names once
represented once struggling or proudly self-sufficient towns. Even
the inside-the-loop street of Crosstimbers was once a separate town.
While most people associate ghost
towns with ruins and desolation - these ghosts live among us.
Were aisles seven and eight at your local HEB once a syrup mill? Was
Radio Shack once a livery stable? Best Buy a cornfield or cotton gin?
Are there unmarked graves under the floor of your favorite Mexican
restaurant?
The short answer is this: In many cases these villages were already
ghost towns - or so close to being ghost towns that you could hardly
tell the difference. Most had their life-blood drained from them after
WWII with the
migration of rural families to Houston.
The phenomenon was statewide. Dallas
and Ft. Worth have
their fair share of postwar "absorbed" ghost towns - as do smaller
cities.
Then "Edge City" happened. The relentless march of strip centers,
subdivisions and gated communities overtook these former towns until
only the names and cemeteries remained.
While the subject is worthy of further investigation (exactly where
is the Lily White cemetery behind Memorial City Shopping Center?),
we're happy to include this topic, made possible by generous grant
of time, sweat and reseach by the Team
Rudine.
- Editor
"15
Minutes of Separation" May 12, 2010 column |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and vintage/historic photos, please contact
us. |
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