DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Back in 1861, a man named Reynolds Reynolds — and yes, you heard that right, Reynolds Reynolds — claimed a grant of 1,250 acres of land out here in what would become one of the most interesting little communities in Harris County. Now, a name like Reynolds Reynolds, you'd think the world would remember it.
But history, she has her own ideas about who gets to stick around. Reynolds' heirs eventually sold the property in 1888 to a land developer by the name of Jacamiah Seaman Daugherty. That is a name that sounds like it was built for a deed of sale.
Daugherty moved fast — by 1889 he had granted a right-of-way to the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad, and he had big dreams for a townsite right here. Then 1893 rolled around, and those dreams ran headlong into foreclosure. The whole thing nearly ended right there, swallowed up by debt and hard times.
But a man named Francis I. Meston bought the land and — here's a fine touch — kept Daugherty on to oversee the very development he'd almost lost. Second chances have a long history in Texas.
In 1894, the community's surveyors gave it a name: Dairy. And that same year, a man named Dr. John S.
Magee and his wife, Alief Ozelda Magee, packed up and moved here from Ellis County, becoming the town's first settlers. More settlers followed, the way settlers do when word gets out that someone else has already done the hard part. Then in 1895, Alief Magee — she walked up to the window of history and applied for a United States Post Office for the town.
The postal service accepted the application, but they had their own name in mind. They called it Alief. And that post office?
It operated right out of her home. Think on that a moment. A woman applies for a post office, it gets named for her first name, and she runs it out of her own house.
Farms, ranches, a general store, a depot, schools, churches — Dairy built itself into a real community, even as devastating floods came through and tested everything people had put down roots for. After 1900, rice farming took hold and gave the area's economic base something new to stand on. The citizens weren't done organizing, either.
In 1909 they formed the first Harris County Flood Control District — the floods had made sure nobody forgot why that mattered. Two years later, in 1911, they established an independent school district. The town that the surveyors had named Dairy, and the postal service had renamed Alief, got officially renamed Alief in 1917.
And then in the 1970s, much of it was annexed by Houston. But here's the thing about a place that has survived foreclosure, flooding, renaming, and annexation — it retains its identity. Always has.
The marker says so itself.
What the marker says
Reynolds Reynolds claimed a grant of 1,250 acres of land in this area in 1861. Land developer Jacamiah Seaman Daugherty bought the property from Reynolds' heirs in 1888, and in 1889 he granted a right-of-way to the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad. His plans to develop a townsite almost came to an end when he faced foreclosure in 1893, but the land was purchased by Francis I. Meston, who retained Daugherty to oversee its development. In 1894, after the community was named Dairy by its surveyors, Dr. John S. Magee and his wife, Alief Ozelda Magee, moved here from Ellis County and became the town's first settlers. They were joined by more settlers, and in 1895 Alief Magee applied for a U. S. Post Office for the town. Named Alief by the postal service, the post office operated from her home. Comprised of farms, ranches, a general store, depot, schools, and churches, Dairy endured despite devastating floods. Rice farming began after 1900, enhancing the area's economic base. The citizens formed the first Harris County Flood Control District in 1909 and established an independent school district in 1911. Although much of the town (renamed Alief in 1917) was annexed by Houston in the 1970s, it retains its identity.