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When the city of
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
was founded in 1836 and incorporated in 1837, its founders—
John Kirby Allen John Kirby Allen (1810 – August 15, 1838), was a co-founder of the city of Houston and a former member of the Republic of Texas House of Representatives. He was born in Canaseraga Village, New York (the present day hamlet of Sullivan in the ...
and Augustus Chapman Allen—divided it into political geographic districts called "
wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
". The ward system, a precursor to today's City Council districts, was a common political tool of the early 19th century, and is still used in some American cities. When the system was at its peak, the city had six wards, from the first to the sixth.


Wards as political divisions


First four wards

In 1840, the Republic of Texas altered the city charter for Houston, dividing it into four wards. Historically the wards reflected geographic boundaries, without consideration of the population density within the wards.Looking back wards
." ''City Savvy Online'' (City of Houston). (northern hemisphere) Winter 2008. Retrieved on October 20, 2011.
Houston's municipal charter of 1840 recognized a square area of 9 square miles, which was divided into four wards. Though the surveyors chose the Harris County Courthouse as the geographical center of Houston, the ward boundaries were formed by two axes converging at the corner of Main and Congress Streets. These resulted in four pie-shaped wards, almost identical in size, numbering clockwise from the northwest quadrant. Voters from each ward elected two alderman, who served the public without pay. Candidates for alderman were limited to white, male, Texas-citizens, and furthermore, were subject to requirements to have nominal tenure of residency and real estate holdings in the city. After slavery ended in Texas in June 1865, ex-slaves were forced to live in separate enclaves within each of Houston's wards. The voting population of the wards was lower than the population, since women and African-Americans had been forbidden from voting. Instead, wards followed boundaries of features such as the
Buffalo Bayou Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving body of water which flows through Houston in Harris County, Texas. Formed 18,000 years ago, it has its source in the prairie surrounding Katy, Fort Bend County, and flows approximately east through the Houston Ship ...
, Congress Street, and Main Street. Each ward elected two aldermen to the
Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Currently, there are sixteen members, 11 elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, w ...
. The election of the
Mayor of Houston The following is a list of people who have served as mayor of the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Until 2015, the term of the mayor was two years. Beginning with the tenure of Bob Lanier, the city charter imposed term limits on offi ...
was citywide.Kever, Jeannie.
Pride lives on in city's six historical wards
" ''
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 ...
''. September 7, 2004. Retrieved on October 20, 2011.
Betty Chapman, a historian, said "They really were mixed societies in the early days. Where you worked dictated where you lived, not who you wanted to live around." The ward boundaries touched each other at the intersection of Congress Street and Main Street. The first ward was northwest of that intersection. The ward housed the city's market house and produce industry facilities. The second ward was located to the northeast. The courthouse and the heavy warehouses were located there. Therefore, many lawyers and merchants resided there. The third was situated to the southeast. Businesspeople, craftsmen, and professionals lived there. The Third Ward had fancier houses than other wards. The fourth ward was southwest of the intersection. That ward included what was then the central portion of the city. Freed slaves developed
Freedmen's Town In the United States, a freedmen's town was an African American municipality or community built by freedmen, former slaves who were emancipated during and after the American Civil War. These towns emerged in a number of states, most notably Texas ...
in a area in the Fourth Ward. What was once Produce Row, a group of produce businesses on Commerce Street in the urbanized section of First Ward, is now in Downtown Houston. What was then rural First Ward had many farms, so the process of food production occurred in the First Ward. In 2018 the street artist Dual made a mural representing Produce Row on the Main & Co. Building in Downtown.


Fifth Ward

By December 1866, the Fifth Ward had been created, with two aldermen elected from that area during that month. The Fifth Ward was added in 1866 to accommodate the city's growth.
Buffalo Bayou Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving body of water which flows through Houston in Harris County, Texas. Formed 18,000 years ago, it has its source in the prairie surrounding Katy, Fort Bend County, and flows approximately east through the Houston Ship ...
served as the ward's southern border, while the White Oak Bayou served as the ward's western border. The idea was not to have an equal number of residents in each but rather to draw lines along natural boundaries:
Buffalo Bayou Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving body of water which flows through Houston in Harris County, Texas. Formed 18,000 years ago, it has its source in the prairie surrounding Katy, Fort Bend County, and flows approximately east through the Houston Ship ...
, Main Street, and Congress Street. In 1876 the city created the Sixth ward. It was bounded by the First Ward's southwest boundary and the
Buffalo Bayou Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving body of water which flows through Houston in Harris County, Texas. Formed 18,000 years ago, it has its source in the prairie surrounding Katy, Fort Bend County, and flows approximately east through the Houston Ship ...
.


Sixth Ward

In 1876, Houston carved out part of the Fourth Ward to create the Sixth Ward. The new political division was bounded by Buffalo Bayou to the south, Washington Avenue to the north, and Glenwood Cemetery from the west to the city limits.


Abolition

The City of Houston abolished the ward system in the early 1900s.Wood, Roger. Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues. 2003, University of Texas Press. 1st Edition. 72. In 1902, at the beginning of O.T. Hold's term as
Mayor of Houston The following is a list of people who have served as mayor of the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Until 2015, the term of the mayor was two years. Beginning with the tenure of Bob Lanier, the city charter imposed term limits on offi ...
, the city's financial records were in poor shape, and independent auditors found that the city's coffers had a shortage of over $54,000 for the period 1899 to 1902. A 1975 ''
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 ...
'' article said that the corruption that had been discovered led voters to politically neuter the wards via an election on December 10, 1904. The city of Houston changed to a commission form of government. In November 1915, a newly passed city ordinance officially abolished the wards. On city maps, the wards continued to be used as geographic reference points until 1928. After 1928 other landmarks such as Memorial Park and
River Oaks River Oaks is a residential community located in the center of Houston, Texas, United States. Located within the 610 Loop and between Downtown and Uptown, the community spans .Archive Established in the 1920s by brothers Will Hogg and Michael ...
appeared in place of the wards as reference points.


Wards as communities

While the wards no longer exist legally, area residents still identify certain communities, especially that have been a part of the city since incorporation, as being "wards" of the city. The ward identification appears on signage and in casual conversation from Houstonians. Houston's wards as they are referred to today are not identical to the wards that existed before 1915. Will Howard, an assistant manager of the Texas and local history department of 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 ...
, said during that year "They are cultural entities today, not legal entities, and like any culture, they are almost obligated to change."


First Ward

First Ward


Fifth Ward


Fifth Ward Community Website


Sixth Ward


OSWNA
OSW Neighborhood Assoc.
Sixth Ward


References


External links


Where the Wards are
''
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 ...
''. September 7, 2004. Last accessed November 19, 2006.
Super Neighborhood # 63 Second Ward
Officially Recognized Super Neighborhood Councils, City of Houston. Last accessed November 19, 2006.



''
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 ...
'' February 6, 2008 {{Houston, Texas History of Houston Municipal legislative districts of the United States Neighborhoods in Houston