Mykawa ( ) is an area within

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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 ...

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that was formerly a distinct

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 have ...

in Harris County.

History

Mykawa was named after a

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese nurseryman named

Shinpei Mykawa was a Japanese rice farmer who introduced the cultivation of rice in parts of southeast Texas. The community of Mykawa and Mykawa Road in Houston are named after him. History Mykawa graduated from what would become Hitotsubashi University. At ...

, who, by 1906, introduced the cultivation of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

in the area. The community was renamed from Erin Station after Mykawa died after he fell underneath one of his pieces of agricultural equipment. Officials from the

Santa Fe Railroad Company The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...

renamed the station after Mykawa, and many Japanese immigrants to Texas perceived it as a place friendly to Asian Americans because of the town's naming.Connor, R. E.
How That Road Got Its Name
" ''

Houston Post The ''Houston Post'' was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper shut down, and its assets were purchased by the ''Houston Chronicle''. History Gail Borden Johnson founded the ''Houston Po ...

'', Sunday May 2, 1965. Spotlight, Page 3. - Available on microfilm at the

Houston Public Library Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. History Houston Lyceum and the Carnegie Library The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the second Houston Lyceum in 18 ...

Central Library Jesse H. Jones Building Mykawa's name, as the town name and the name of Mykawa Road, is pronounced differently from the actual Japanese name '' Maekawa''. For a period Mykawa had a community of Japanese rice farmers. John M. Moore of the ''

'' said that it "seems to be" that salt water and waste oil introduced by a nearby oil field destroyed some rice field crops cultivated by the Japanese farmers, causing them to leave the area before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; Moore said that area residents erroneously believed that the farmers left as a result of World War II.Moore, John M. "Mykawa Is Fading Into City's Shadows." ''

''. Sunday July 1, 1951. Section 1, Page 14. Available via microfilm from the

Main Library Jesse H. Jones Building. By 1951 the nearest Japanese farmers were located near Minnetex. During that year many of the Japanese farmers formerly in Mykawa resided in north Harris County. In the 1940s and 1950s new additions were constructed in the area of nearby Sunnyside. Local residents of majority white Mykawa expressed dismay at this, as the 1948 ''

Shelley v. Kraemer ''Shelley v. Kraemer'', 334 U.S. 1 (1948), is a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark United States Supreme Court case that held that racially restrictive housing Covenant (law), covenants cannot legally be enforced. The ...

'' Supreme Court decision meant that neighborhoods could no longer have rules excluding people on the basis of race. Terroristic threats were made against the Sunnyside community. In 1951 Moore said that Mykawa was losing its individual identity and was becoming a part of Houston. Moore said "I found out that Mykawa was gradually losing its individuality." Moore said that when he visited a general store where natives of the area said that they did most of their shopping, the clerk was unaware that there was a community called "Mykawa."

Cityscape

Mykawa is located south of the Sims Bayou. The center of the Mykawa area is the intersection of Mykawa Road and Almeda-Genoa Road. As of 1951 the Mykawa School and the Mykawa Railroad Station were located there, and the

Pearland Pearland ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within Brazoria County, with portions extending into Fort Bend and Harris counties. The city of Pearland is a principal city within the metropolitan statistical area. At the 2020 U.S. census, th ...

water tower and Houston Municipal Airport (

William P. Hobby Airport William P. Hobby Airport (colloquially referred to as Hobby Airport, Houston Hobby, or simply Hobby) is an international airport in Houston, Texas, located from downtown Houston. Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primar ...

) were visible from this location. As of 1951, the residents other than the original settlers mainly lived on small farms. Some had enough money to build Colonial-style houses. In 1951 land had a cost of $1,000 per acre. John M. Moore of the ''

'' said "the flat plain is easily flooded, but the acreage is not what you would call cheap." At that time a man described by Moore as " e of the leading citizens" of Mykawa, W. B. Schulte, was selling acreage for the development of houses, a practice which Moore said "eventually will erase his community, no doubt."

Government and infrastructure

The

Houston Fire Department City of Houston Fire Department (HFD) is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Houston, Texas, United States, the fourth largest city in the United States. HFD is responsible for preserving life and ...

serves Mykawa. Previously the Mykawa Volunteer Fire Department, which had a station on

Telephone Road Telephone Road is a street in eastern and southeastern Houston, Texas, United States. The road extends from South Lockwood Street to the City of Pearland. A portion of Telephone Road is also designated as Texas State Highway 35. Telephone Road was ...

, served the community. In 1951 Moore said that " out the only public official" in the Mykawa area was the judge of the voting precinct of yearly elections, E. E. Forbes. 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

Martin Luther King Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

Health Center in southeast Houston for the ZIP code 77048. The designated public hospital is Ben Taub General Hospital in the

Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a medical district and neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States, immediately south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 60 medical institutions, largely concentrate ...

Education

Mykawa is within the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

. Elementary schools serving portions of the Mykawa area include:
Frost Elementary SchoolMitchell Elementary School
The area is served by the following secondary schools:
Thomas Middle School
* Sterling High School Originally the community was served by Harris County Common School District 45. The Mykawa School, a 20th-century one-room schoolhouse that was within the district, at one time served residents of Mykawa. The red brick building sits on of land.Martin, Betty L.
Minnetex to host festival to raise awareness about health, 1919 schoolhouse
." ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

''. Thursday April 3, 2003. ThisWeek7. Retrieved on December 21, 2009. The building was erected in 1923. By 1951 the family of Henry May, a school bus driver, was living there. John M. Moore of the ''

'' said that "half a dozen" school buses were parked in the front yard of the school. In 1951 students from Mykawa attended Garden Villas Elementary School in

Garden Villas Garden Villas is a subdivision in Houston, Texas, United States. Garden Villas is north of Hobby Airport on the banks of Sims Bayou. - Section ThisWeek, Page 1 () The lots range from one-half acre to over . Most homes in the subdivision were b ...

while older children attended high schools in Houston. The Minnetex Civic Club rents the building from its owner, the

, to use as a meeting place. In 2002 the club wanted the school to be named a historical monument so the building would avoid demolition and receive a restoration. During that year, Terry McMillan, the president of the civic club, said that the school district did not want the building to be named a historic site as it would make it more difficult for the school district to sell the school.Martin, Betty L.
RED SCHOOL HOUSE / Civic club wants to restore, preserve Mykawa School
." ''

''. Thursday September 5, 2002. ThisWeek 1. Retrieved on December 21, 2009. In 2003 the civic club held a festival in the former schoolhouse to raise awareness about the building. By that year the school's roof had partially collapsed.

Recreation

Moore said in 1951 that the Mykawa Home Demonstration Club, was "one of the few community organizations" of the area. During that year it was trying to establish a civic club in Allison Park, near Minnetex, along with the clubs of Minnetex and South Acres.

References

External links

MYKAWA, TX
at ''

Handbook of Texas The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...

''
Publications of Early Japanese in North America
(Japanese) {{coord, 29.6208, N, 95.3134, W, source:wikidata, display=title Neighborhoods in Houston Geography of Harris County, Texas

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Japanese-American history