DUANE
Duane's take
Here's the story as the marker tells it, straight from the official record of Independence Heights in Harris County. Around 1908, the Wright Land Company was out here promotin' something. They had land, and they were sellin' it — lot by lot — and black families were buyin'.
Not rentin', not leasin' — buyin' lots and buildin' their own homes. That right there is how Independence Heights got its start. By 1911, a school was established.
That's three years in, and already these folks were puttin' down the kind of roots you don't pull up easy. The businesses followed, the way they do when a real community takes hold. Retail stores.
Restaurants. Building contractors. Lumberyards.
A blacksmith shop, a tailor, a barber shop. The whole architecture of daily life, built from the ground up. And then the churches came — or maybe they came alongside everything else, the way churches tend to do.
New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, founded in 1912 right at this very site. Green Chapel A.M.E. St.
Paul C.M.E. Ebenezer M.E. Concord Missionary Baptist.
North Main Church of God in Christ. Fraternal organizations were formed too. By 1915, about four hundred people called Independence Heights home.
And then — this is the part that deserves a slow breath — in that same year, 1915, an election was held. The city was incorporated. George O.
Burgess was elected the first mayor. A Black city, self-governed, right here in Harris County, Texas. Over the next few years, the streets got shell paving.
Plank sidewalks went in. A municipal water system was installed. O.
L. Hubbard served a mayoral term. Arthur L.
McCullough, Sr. served one too. This place was runnin' itself, thank you very much. But 1928 brought another election — and in that one, the city organization was dissolved.
Then on December 26, 1929, Independence Heights was annexed by the city of Houston. The city was gone, absorbed into something larger. But here's what the marker makes sure you know before you drive on: the Independence Heights name is still associated with the area.
They took the incorporation. They couldn't take the name.
What the marker says
Promoted by the Wright Land Company, the Independence Heights community began about 1908. Many black families purchased lots and built their own homes. A school was established in 1911. Businesses in Independence Heights included retail stores, restaurants, building contractors, lumberyards, a blacksmith shop, tailor, and barber shop. Fraternal organizations were formed, as well as a number of churches: New Hope Missionary Baptist Church (founded in 1912 at this site), Green Chapel A. M. E., St. Paul C. M. E., Ebenezer M. E., Concord Missionary Baptist, and North Main Church of God in Christ. By 1915 there were about four hundred residents. In that year an election was held and the city was incorporated. George O. Burgess was elected the first mayor. City improvements over the next few years included the shell paving of streets, plank sidewalks, and the installation of a municipal water system. O. L. Hubbard and Arthur L. McCullough, Sr. also served mayoral terms. In 1928 another election was held in which the city organization was dissolved. Independence Heights was annexed by the city of Houston on December 26, 1929. The Independence Heights name is still associated with the area.