Who Are The Founders of Houston Heights?

In 1886 Oscar Martin Carter, a self-made millionaire who had business interests in Nebraska and Colorado, brought to Houston his utopian vision for the 20th century. Carter's dream was to build a new type of town, a planned community where people could live and work in health and safety. Houston was a city plagued by yellow fever and devastating annual floods. Carter chose the Heights as an ideal spot for his new community. Houston Heights, with an elevation 23 feet higher than downtown Houston, a natural sandy soil, rich vegetation, mature trees, and artesian water sources, promised a sanctuary of health and well-being. Carter convinced his Eastern investors that Houston was destined for growth and the ideal place to invest heavily. Carter attracted his corps of investors who set up the Omaha and South Texas Land Company. Not only did they invest, but many also lived in this utopian city. The company purchased 1,756 acres of land and made over $500,000 worth of improvements, including utilities, streets and alleys, as well as parks and schools. The blocks were carefully arranged, along with the planting of trees and natural features that now line the streets. Along with his other accomplishments, Carter built a commercial strip at 19th and Ashland to serve the new residents.

D. D. Cooley came to Houston in 1890 as the general manager in charge of development for the Omaha and South Texas Land Company. Cooley owned and lived in one of the first residences built on Heights Boulevard; he was also one of the original group of investors in the Houston Heights. His home, built in 1893, was to serve as an example of the type of house to be built on the Boulevard. The Cooley family was extremely active socially; Mrs. Cooley even donated the land where the Houston Heights Woman's Club was erected in  1912. Education was of foremost importance to Cooley, and he was instrumental in establishing some of the first schools in the Heights, including one for black children.

Silas Wilkins bought the first lots in 1893. He was a carpenter for the Omaha and South Texas Land Company who had helped ready the land for the residents. Shortly thereafter, he built a home at 1541 Ashland Street and later became the second postmaster of Houston Heights after the incorporation of the Houston Heights as a "village" in 1896 (Houston Heights celebrated its 100th anniversary of incorporation on July 1.)

William G. Love was elected the first mayor. He served from the incorporation as a village in 1896 until 1899. Love's greater service to the Heights, however, was as its legal advisor. He was also appointed District Attorney for Houston and  Galveston counties in 1907, and was elected to the position the next year, serving until 1910. The large, Queen-Anne style house at 1505 Heights Boulevard was his home until his death in 1926. 

John Milroy joined Carter in 1893 and was influential in selling lots and recruiting residents into the Heights. First living at 1602 Harvard Street, he and his family moved in 1897 to the large home at 1102 Heights Boulevard - today  listed as a Registered Texas Historical Landmark. For 20 years, Milroy acted as general agent of the Houston Heights Office of Carter's company, in charge of all lands owned by Carter in Texas.  He also served 8 terms as mayor of Houston  Heights (1899 to 1907). Milroy died only a few months after its annexation into Houston in 1918. 

Milroy was followed by David Barker, who was mayor from 1907 to 1913. During Barker's administration, Heights Boulevard and several other streets were paved, schools were constructed, and the first fire station was built. Houston Heights' dry ordinance, which banned the sale of alcoholic beverages in large portions of the community, was passed on September 25, 1912. This ordinance remains in force today. Barker's home at 121 E. 16th Avenue received a Registered Texas Historical Landmark designation in 1991. 

Barker was succeeded in April 1913 by Robert F. Isbell, who lived at 639 Heights Boulevard. (In The History of Houston Heights by Sister M. Agatha, we read that Isbell resigned his position in August,1914 to move his family to Taft, Texas for a better job opportunity. He was accidentally shot and killed on February 19, 1920. His widow returned to their Heights Boulevard home where she continued to live for many years.)

James B. Marmion served as the last mayor of the Houston Heights (1914-1918). His administration spawned a new fire station, city hall, and jail at 12th and Yale. During his administration, residents concluded that they could no  longer provide enough tax revenue to properly educate their children through the local school system. This acknowledgment directly led to the decision of annexation by the City of Houston in 1918.