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Second Ward, Houston AI simulator
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Second Ward, Houston
Second Ward (also known as Segundo Barrio, Spanish for "second neighborhood", or Segundo in short; historically Das Zweiter in German) is a historical political district ward in the East End community in Houston, Texas. It was one of the four original wards of the city in the nineteenth century. The community known as the Second Ward today is roughly bounded by Buffalo Bayou to the north, Lockwood Avenue to the east, and railroad tracks to the south and west, although the City of Houston's "Super Neighborhood" program includes a section east of Lockwood.
The Second Ward, which initially had a significant German American population, today has mainly Mexican American residents. Many Mexican-Americans moved into the area following World War II and the subsequent white flight from the area. The northern end of the community is largely industrial, leading to massive warehouse complexes along the Bayou. There are also many industrial buildings, some of which have found new life as lofts, on the western edge of the neighborhood nearest to Downtown and Daikin Park.
Many buildings in the community were constructed in the 1920s and bear the art deco style. While perceived as rundown and neglected in the 1800. to 2020, recent years have seen major civic improvements including new street lights and pavement, as well as the beginnings of gentrification as professionals and others move from both the far-flung suburbs and other, more expensive Inner Loop neighborhoods.[citation needed] Residents of all ages frequent the Ripley House Community Center.[citation needed]
After incorporation of Houston in 1837, the Second Ward was established as one of the original four wards of Houston through charter statutes passed in 1839 and 1840. The boundaries of the Second Ward were Buffalo Bayou to the north, Main Street to the west, Congress Avenue to the south, and the city limits to the east. The Second Ward elected two aldermen to represent them in municipal government.
The Frost brothers, Samuel and Jonathan, started developing the first subdivision in Houston shortly after the Allen brothers acquired the Houston tract. Samuel ran a hamlet outside of town on his homestead, which included a blacksmith shop. Jonathan inherited the fifteen-acre tract after his brother died of cholera. Jonathan platted Frost-town as a small subdivision within a bend of Buffalo Bayou. The surviving Frost brother succeeded in selling seventy percent of the lots by 1840, about the time that Frost-town was incorporated within the city of Houston.
The Second Ward contained an important meeting place for Houston's Catholics. John Odin arrived in Houston in 1841, when he established the first Catholic parish, St. Vincent de Paul, Houston. The next year, the parish opened its first church at the southwest corner of Franklin Avenue and Caroline Street. The complex included a rectory and a school.
By 1860, the Second Ward included some of the wealthiest people in Houston. William J. Hutchins and William Marsh Rice each reported wealth of at least $700,000 to the census taker in 1860. In addition to these wealthy residents who resided in town between Franklin and Congress avenues, Robert Lockhart and John T. Brady lived in remote neighborhoods, far east in the Second Ward. Lockhart was a merchant and grist mill owner who married into the Francis Lubbock family, and resided on a large homestead known as "Lubbock's Grove." Lockhart's personal estate in 1860 was comparatively modest compared but still substantial at $105,000. Brady, another wealthy Second Ward resident, was an attorney, state legislator, and investor.
The Frost Town neighborhood and part of the Quality Hill neighborhood were in the Second Ward. Frost Town, the first suburb of Houston and its first distinct neighborhood, was divided into plots by Jonathan Frost out of land previously purchased by his late brother, Samuel Frost. Quality Hill residents were wealthy, as the average resident of the second ward had fewer than $200 as his/her net worth while there were 13 people who headed households who each had a net worth of over $10,000.[discuss] The Second Ward, in the 1800s, had a heavily German American community. Thomas McWhorter, author of "From Das Zweiter to El Segundo, A Brief History of Houston’s Second Ward," wrote that "Second Ward became an unofficial hub of German-American culture and social life during the nineteenth century." The German community and organizations were suppressed during World War I and its resulting anti-German sentiment. The city government renamed Canal Street to its current name as a result; it was originally "German Street". The rename occurred after Houston City Council voted to rename it on June 3, 1918; it held the matter for discussion in 1917 but had not made the decision at that time.
Second Ward, Houston
Second Ward (also known as Segundo Barrio, Spanish for "second neighborhood", or Segundo in short; historically Das Zweiter in German) is a historical political district ward in the East End community in Houston, Texas. It was one of the four original wards of the city in the nineteenth century. The community known as the Second Ward today is roughly bounded by Buffalo Bayou to the north, Lockwood Avenue to the east, and railroad tracks to the south and west, although the City of Houston's "Super Neighborhood" program includes a section east of Lockwood.
The Second Ward, which initially had a significant German American population, today has mainly Mexican American residents. Many Mexican-Americans moved into the area following World War II and the subsequent white flight from the area. The northern end of the community is largely industrial, leading to massive warehouse complexes along the Bayou. There are also many industrial buildings, some of which have found new life as lofts, on the western edge of the neighborhood nearest to Downtown and Daikin Park.
Many buildings in the community were constructed in the 1920s and bear the art deco style. While perceived as rundown and neglected in the 1800. to 2020, recent years have seen major civic improvements including new street lights and pavement, as well as the beginnings of gentrification as professionals and others move from both the far-flung suburbs and other, more expensive Inner Loop neighborhoods.[citation needed] Residents of all ages frequent the Ripley House Community Center.[citation needed]
After incorporation of Houston in 1837, the Second Ward was established as one of the original four wards of Houston through charter statutes passed in 1839 and 1840. The boundaries of the Second Ward were Buffalo Bayou to the north, Main Street to the west, Congress Avenue to the south, and the city limits to the east. The Second Ward elected two aldermen to represent them in municipal government.
The Frost brothers, Samuel and Jonathan, started developing the first subdivision in Houston shortly after the Allen brothers acquired the Houston tract. Samuel ran a hamlet outside of town on his homestead, which included a blacksmith shop. Jonathan inherited the fifteen-acre tract after his brother died of cholera. Jonathan platted Frost-town as a small subdivision within a bend of Buffalo Bayou. The surviving Frost brother succeeded in selling seventy percent of the lots by 1840, about the time that Frost-town was incorporated within the city of Houston.
The Second Ward contained an important meeting place for Houston's Catholics. John Odin arrived in Houston in 1841, when he established the first Catholic parish, St. Vincent de Paul, Houston. The next year, the parish opened its first church at the southwest corner of Franklin Avenue and Caroline Street. The complex included a rectory and a school.
By 1860, the Second Ward included some of the wealthiest people in Houston. William J. Hutchins and William Marsh Rice each reported wealth of at least $700,000 to the census taker in 1860. In addition to these wealthy residents who resided in town between Franklin and Congress avenues, Robert Lockhart and John T. Brady lived in remote neighborhoods, far east in the Second Ward. Lockhart was a merchant and grist mill owner who married into the Francis Lubbock family, and resided on a large homestead known as "Lubbock's Grove." Lockhart's personal estate in 1860 was comparatively modest compared but still substantial at $105,000. Brady, another wealthy Second Ward resident, was an attorney, state legislator, and investor.
The Frost Town neighborhood and part of the Quality Hill neighborhood were in the Second Ward. Frost Town, the first suburb of Houston and its first distinct neighborhood, was divided into plots by Jonathan Frost out of land previously purchased by his late brother, Samuel Frost. Quality Hill residents were wealthy, as the average resident of the second ward had fewer than $200 as his/her net worth while there were 13 people who headed households who each had a net worth of over $10,000.[discuss] The Second Ward, in the 1800s, had a heavily German American community. Thomas McWhorter, author of "From Das Zweiter to El Segundo, A Brief History of Houston’s Second Ward," wrote that "Second Ward became an unofficial hub of German-American culture and social life during the nineteenth century." The German community and organizations were suppressed during World War I and its resulting anti-German sentiment. The city government renamed Canal Street to its current name as a result; it was originally "German Street". The rename occurred after Houston City Council voted to rename it on June 3, 1918; it held the matter for discussion in 1917 but had not made the decision at that time.
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