Klein is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either ha ...
in
Harris County,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
, roughly bordering
Texas State Highway 99
State Highway 99 (SH 99), also known as the Grand Parkway, is a ring road in the U.S. state of Texas. Its first section opened on August 31, 1994. When the route is completed, it will be the longest beltway in the U.S., the world's seventh-long ...
to the north,
Texas State Highway 249
State Highway 249 (SH 249), also known depending on its location as West Mount Houston Road, the Tomball Parkway, Tomball Tollway, MCTRA 249 Tollway, or the Aggie Expressway, is a generally north–south highway in Southeast Texas. The ...
to the west,
Interstate 45
Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Texas. While most Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, with the ...
to the east, and the city of
Houston
Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
to the south. It includes the entire area of Klein ISD. Residents of the zip codes 77066, 77069, 77086, 77379, 77388, 77389 and 77391 can use Klein as their postal city. Klein is one of the most diverse, as well as being one of the largest unincorporated areas of Houston.
It is named after Adam Klein, a
German immigrant whose best-known great-great-grandson is singer
Lyle Lovett
Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957) Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 13 albums and relea ...
. Other famous sons and daughters of the Klein community include actor
Jim Parsons
James Joseph Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American actor. From 2007 to 2019, he played Sheldon Cooper in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory''. He has received various awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead ...
, actor
Lee Pace
Lee Grinner Pace (born March 25, 1979) is an American actor. He is known for starring as Thranduil the Elvenking in ''The Hobbit'' trilogy and as Joe MacMillan in the AMC period drama television series '' Halt and Catch Fire''. He has also a ...
, actor
Matthew Bomer, actress
Lynn Collins
Viola Lynn Collins (born May 16, 1977) is an American actress. She has made television appearances in ''True Blood'' (2008), '' Manhunt: Unabomber'' (2017) and '' The Walking Dead'' (2021–2022), and is recognized for her roles in films such a ...
, actress
Sherry Stringfield
Sherry Lea Stringfield (born June 24, 1967) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Dr. Susan Lewis on the NBC medical drama '' ER'', a role for which she received three Emmy Award nominations. Stringfield was a member ...
, singer/songwriter
Derek Webb
Derek Walsh Webb (born May 27, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter who first entered the music industry as a member of the band Caedmon's Call, and later embarked on a successful solo career. As a member of the Houston, Texas-based Caedmon's ...
, songwriter Aaron Tate, singer/songwriter Chase Hamblin, actor
Ben Rappaport
Ben Rappaport (born ) is an American actor. He played the role of Todd Dempsy in the NBC sitcom '' Outsourced'', which aired during the 2010–11 television season. The series marked Rappaport's debut acting role on screen.
Life and career
Rapp ...
, Major League Baseball players
David Murphy and
Josh Barfield
Joshua LaRoy Barfield (born December 17, 1982) is a former American professional baseball second baseman. He is the son of former major league outfielder Jesse Barfield. Barfield was born in Venezuela during his mother's two-week winterball visi ...
, NFL players
Randy Bullock,
Ashton Youboty,
Mike Green (running back), and Olympic gold medalists
Laura Wilkinson,
Simone Biles
Simone Arianne Biles (; born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. Her seven Olympic medals tied with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals won by an American gymnast. Having won 25 World Championship medals, she is the most de ...
, and
Chad Hedrick as well as
Kevin M. Klein chef and restaurateur
Klein is served by
David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport, one of just a few privately owned airports in the U.S. to have a
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...
control tower, and home to
Civil Air Patrol
Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a Congressional charter, congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official Auxiliaries, civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organi ...
's Delta Composite Squadron.
Geography
Klein has a
Humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40� ...
with a 9a
Hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
. The area is susceptible to hurricanes and flooding.
The area serves as a fringe ecocline boundary between the
Piney Woods
The Piney Woods is a temperate coniferous forest terrestrial ecoregion in the Southern United States covering of East Texas, southern Arkansas, western Louisiana, and southeastern Oklahoma. These coniferous forests are dominated by several s ...
, southern post oak savanna, and prairie land as an extension of the
Western Gulf coastal grasslands.
Much of the original ecosystem had been cleared for farming. Since then, the community has been rapidly built up by subdivisions, businesses, and mixed land use — and thus very little of the area represents its native ecosystem.
Most of the core Klein area sits between Spring Creek to the north, separating Tomball to the northwest by Willow Creek, and Cypress Creek is the waterway that passes through the center of the greater Klein area. Both these creeks are tributaries to lower
Spring Creek (Harris County, Texas)
Spring Creek is a creek that divides Harris and Montgomery County in Southeast Texas. It is the only natural creek in both Harris and Montgomery County. The Creek flows into the west fork of the San Jacinto River west of Lake Houston. Spring Cr ...
and ultimately
Lake Houston
Lake Houston is a reservoir on the San Jacinto River, 15 miles (24 km) northeast of downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The reservoir is the primary municipal water supply for the city of Houston.
Location and creation
Situated between ...
.
Parcels along Cypress Creek contain a mix of older undisturbed bottomland forest, private residence, and well-maintained bike trails through public parks.
Prairie-like stretches of oak (
Quercus virginiana
''Quercus virginiana'', also known as the southern live oak, is an evergreen oak tree endemic to the Southeastern United States. Though many other species are loosely called live oak, the southern live oak is particularly iconic of the Old Sou ...
) and various hardwoods, draped in
Spanish moss
Spanish moss (''Tillandsia usneoides'') is an epiphytic flowering plant that often grows upon large trees in tropical and subtropical climates. It is native to much of Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Central America, South America, the Southern Un ...
, are present in and around the Raveneaux Country Club,
Klein High School
Klein High School is a public high school located in Klein, Texas, United States, located approximately from Downtown Houston. It serves grades 9– 12 in the Klein Independent School District. The current principal of Klein High School is Bra ...
, as well as in public spaces such as Meyer Park.
The Klein Kissing Tree is in Klein. In April 2020 the
Texas A&M Forest Service designated it as one of several historic "
kissing trees" in the state.
Flora
A well-preserved oxbow lake habitat can be found in the Ponderosa Walking Park. Dwarf palmetto
Sabal minor
''Sabal minor'', commonly known as the dwarf palmetto, is a small species of palm. It is native to the deep southeastern and south-central United States and northeastern Mexico. It is naturally found in a diversity of habitats, including maritime ...
and southern magnolia
Magnolia grandiflora
''Magnolia grandiflora'', commonly known as the southern magnolia or bull bay, is a tree of the family Magnoliaceae native to the Southeastern United States, from Virginia to central Florida, and west to East Texas. Reaching in height, it is ...
trees are found in the understory and near the edges of bodies of water and swamps, as well as bald cypress (
Taxodium distichum
''Taxodium distichum'' (bald cypress, swamp cypress; french: cyprès chauve;
''cipre'' in Louisiana) is a deciduous conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States. Hardy and tough, this tree adapts to a wide r ...
) sweetgum (
Liquidambar styraciflua
American sweetgum (''Liquidambar styraciflua''), also known as American storax, hazel pine, bilsted, redgum, satin-walnut, star-leaved gum, alligatorwood, or simply sweetgum, is a deciduous tree in the genus ''Liquidambar'' native to warm temper ...
), water oak (
Quercus nigra
''Quercus nigra'', the water oak, is an oak in the red oak group (''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae''), native to the eastern and south-central United States, found in all the coastal states from New Jersey to Texas, and inland as far as Oklahoma, Kent ...
), and black tupelo (
Nyssa sylvatica
''Nyssa sylvatica'', commonly known as tupelo, black tupelo, black gum or sour gum, is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to eastern North America from the coastal Northeastern United States and southern Ontario south to central Florida a ...
) all being present.
Fauna
Reptiles from common species like the
Red-ear slider turtle, and green anole (
Anolis carolinensis),
American green tree frog
The American green tree frog (''Dryophytes cinereus'' or ''Hyla cinerea'') is a common arboreal species of New World tree frog belonging to the family Hylidae. This nocturnal insectivore is moderately sized and has a bright green to reddish-brow ...
, to more precarious species such as the venomous Texas coral snake
Micrurus tener, and the
American alligator
The American alligator (''Alligator mississippiensis''), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator or common alligator, is a large crocodilian reptile native to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two extant species in the ge ...
.
Government and infrastructure
Local government
Harris County ESD 16 dba "Klein Fire Department", headquartered at 16810 Squyres Road and operates with eight stations, serves areas considered to be Klein. KFD stations in areas with Klein postal addresses. Klein FD is funded by Harris County ESD 16.
Harris County ESD 16 "Klein Fire Department" is governed by 5 elected commissioners.
Klein FD is operated under a Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief, 2 District Chiefs and 3 Safety Officers.
Klein FD station locations.
Station 31 at 18337 Stuebner-Airline Rd. - Engine 31, Tower 31, Tanker 31
Station 32 at Gladebrook and West FM 1960. - Engine 32
Station 33 at 9755 Landry Blvd. - Engine 33, Rescue 33, Reserve Engine 303, Training Engine 301
Station 34 at 16810 Squyres Rd. - Engine 34, Tower 34, Air 30, District 30
Station 35 at Boudreaux near Miramar Lake Blvd. - Engine 35, Rehab 35, Tanker 35
Station 36 at N. Eldridge Parkway at North Point Blvd. - Engine 36, Tower 36, Booster 36
Station 37 at 5518 Winding Ridge Dr. - Engine 37, Rescue 37, Utility 37, Rescue Boat 37, UTV 37
Station 38 at 6900 Crescent Clover Dr. - Engine 38, Booster 38
County, state, and federal representation
Klein is within Harris County Precinct 4. As of 2015, R. Jack Cagle is the Precinct 4 County Commissioner.
The community is served by the
Harris County Sheriff's Office District I Patrol, headquartered from the Cypresswood Substation at 6831 Cypresswood Drive.
The
Harris Health System
The Harris Health System, previously the Harris County Hospital District (HCHD), is a governmental entity with taxing authority that owns and operates three hospitals and numerous clinics throughout Harris County, Texas, United States, includin ...
(formerly Harris County Hospital District) designated the
Acres Homes Health Center for the ZIP code 77379. The designated public hospital is
Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital in northeast Houston.
Dan Crenshaw is the U.S. representative for the 2nd congressional district serving Klein, Texas. State Representative
Valoree Swanson represents the 150th legislative district.
The
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...
operates the Klein Post Office at 7717 Louetta Road.
Education
The Klein community is primarily served by the
Klein Independent School District. However a few minuscule portions of Klein are served by the
Spring ISD and the
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD.
The Klein ISD area joined the North Harris Montgomery Community College District (now
Lone Star College) in 1998. The
Texas Legislature
The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful arm ...
designated Klein ISD a part of the Lone Star College district.
Demographics
The 2016 estimate for the Klein area was 200,805 people. The racial makeup of the town was 46.3 percent White, 32.4 percent Black, 0.6 percent Native American, 14.8 percent Asian, 0.1 percent Pacific Islander, 5.8 percent from other races. Persons of Hispanic origin, regardless of race, accounted for 28.9 percent of the population. About 21.7% of families live below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
.
Black Americans have been well represented in the
Kohrville community dating back since the
Reconstruction era
The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the blo ...
. Kohrville school served the area up until 1928, when students were consolidated into Rural High School District Number One, which eventually became
Klein High School
Klein High School is a public high school located in Klein, Texas, United States, located approximately from Downtown Houston. It serves grades 9– 12 in the Klein Independent School District. The current principal of Klein High School is Bra ...
.
Parks and recreation
Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner operates the Klein Park. The park has four lighted athletic ball fields and toilet facilities.
[Klein Park]
" Harris County Precinct 4. Retrieved on November 11, 2009.
Meyer Park, a 40-acre park, which straddles Cypresswood Road has 38 multiple-sized soccer fields for different age groups. The park also has 4 baseball fields, a playground, a dog park, toilet facilities, and pavilions.
References
External links
*
Hooks Airport Web Site Klein Volunteer Fire Department Cypress Creek EMSKlein Independent School DistrictStory about Lyle Lovett's connection to Klein
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Texas
Unincorporated communities in Harris County, Texas
German-American history