Sam Houston Park

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Sam Houston Park, out there in Harris County. Pull up a chair, because this one's got land deals, a brick factory, a near-demolition, and a group of stubborn Houstonians who refused to let history hit the ground. It starts with a man named Nathaniel Kelly Kellum.

Back in 1844 and 1845, Kellum purchased thirteen acres on the south bank of Buffalo Bayou. Now, thirteen acres of bayou-side land is a canvas, and Kellum didn't waste a brushstroke. He put up a brick factory, a tannery, and his own residence on that ground.

Then in 1847 he built a two-story brick house, the kind of structure that tends to outlast everyone's plans for it. The property later passed to a woman named Zerviah Noble, who held it until the City of Houston came calling. In 1899, the city purchased it, and just like that, that stretch of bayou bank became the first public park officially designated by the City of Houston.

For a while folks just called it City Park, plain and simple. Then in 1903 the name was officially changed to Sam Houston Park, and that name stuck. That two-story brick house Kellum had built, it didn't sit idle.

It became the headquarters building for the Parks Department, which is a fine second act for any old structure. The park itself kept growing, and by 1961 it had expanded to nearly twenty-one acres, absorbing property that had formerly been the Episcopal and Masonic Cemeteries. Twenty-one acres in the heart of Houston, with history layered right into the soil.

But here's where the story takes a turn. In 1959, almost two acres at the far western edge of the park were taken for support piers and access ramps for the Interstate 45 elevated roadway. The marker notes that this possibly contributed to the park's decline in attractiveness to the public.

An elevated highway chewing into your western edge will do that. Popularity waned. The Kellum-Noble House stood vacant on the park grounds for several years.

And then, by 1954, the City of Houston announced plans to raze the building. Raze it. Tear it down.

That two-story brick house that had been standing since 1847. Well. A group of preservation-minded citizens had something to say about that.

They banded together, and the organization that came out of that effort was the Harris County Heritage and Conservation Society, now known as The Heritage Society. They didn't just stabilize the building and open it as a museum. They went further.

They revitalized the whole park, creating a home for historic and replica structures, and other public sculptures and monuments found their place there too. Sam Houston Park has once again become a popular cultural, educational, and leisure site for Houston's downtown residents. Thirteen acres on a bayou bank, a brick factory, a stubborn old house, and a handful of citizens who wouldn't let the wrecking ball have the last word.

That's the kind of story a park earns.

What the marker says

Sam Houston Park began with Nathaniel Kelly Kellum’s purchase of 13 acres on the south bank of Buffalo Bayou in 1844 and 1845. Here Kellum built a brick factory, a tannery and his residence. The property was later sold to Zerviah Noble, who held it until it was purchased by the City of Houston in 1899 to become the first public park so designated by the City of Houston. The two-story brick house that had been built by Kellum in 1847 became the headquarters building for the Parks Department. The park was known as City Park until its name was officially changed to Sam Houston Park in 1903. By 1961, the park had expanded to nearly 21 acres, including property that had formerly been the Episcopal and Masonic Cemeteries, yet the popularity of the park as a leisure site had begun to wane. In 1959 almost two acres of land at the far western edge of the park had been taken for support piers and access ramps for the interstate 45 elevated roadway, possibly contributing to the park’s decline in attractiveness to the public. The Kellum-Noble House stood vacant on the park grounds for several years, and by 1954 the City of Houston announced plans to raze the building. A group of preservation-minded citizens banded together to save the important landmark. The resulting Harris County Heritage and Conservation Society (now known as "The Heritage Society") not only achieved the goal of stabilizing the building and opening it as a museum, but also revitalized the park by creating a home for many historic and replica structures. Other public sculptures and monuments have also found their home in the park. Sam Houston Park has once again become a popular cultural, educational and leisure site for Houston’s downtown residents.