unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in
Fort Bend County
Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded on December 29, 1837, and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, United States. It is a part of the
Greater Houston
Greater Houston, designated by the Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, is the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical ...
metropolitan area.
History
During the
Antebellum
Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to:
United States history
* Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern US
** Antebellum Georgia
** Antebellum South Carolina
** Antebellum Virginia
* Antebellum architectu ...
(pre-
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
) period, the area was within the Arcola Plantation. The community received its name from John J. Juliff, a settler. In the 1850s, the community served as a
Brazos River
The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...
shipping point. In 1858, the
Houston Tap and Brazoria Railway
The Houston Tap and Brazoria Railway was chartered in September 1856 to extend southward from Houston to West Columbia in Brazoria County. The railroad's nicknames were the Columbia Tap and the Sugar Road. The railway absorbed track from an earli ...
opened in the community. In 1891, the community received a post office. In 1896, a general store appeared. The post office closed in 1908 and reopened in 1914. In 1933, a man named Thurman "Doc" Duke purchased several acres of land by the railroad line, opened a store, and leased the remaining land to other tenants. The tenants opened a dance hall and a group of taverns. This led to Juliff gaining a concentration of consumption of alcohol, gambling, and
prostitution
Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...
. The population of Juliff began to know the town by the name "Diddy Wa Diddy," after a song made up by a local in 1934. It soon became an unofficial name for the community and appeared in several
Blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
songs in the 1930s and 1950s. By 1940, Juliff had approximately 50 residents, a church, and three businesses. During the 1940s, the population increased to 150. The post office closed in 1958. By the 1960s, the bars closed or relocated to
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
. By the 1980s, the community consisted of several scattered houses.
The song lyrics "Diddy Wa Diddy - "ain't no town - ain't no city" don't specifically mention Juliff, but according to folklore, Diddy Wa Diddy alludes to a legendary location where food is plentiful and labor is nonexistent, much like The Big Rock Candy Mountains was for
hobo
A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps, and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; a bum neither travels nor works.
Et ...
s. According to other accounts, the song was written by
Blind Blake
Arthur Blake (1896 – December 1, 1934), known as Blind Blake, was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist. He is known for recordings he made for Paramount Records between 1926 and 1932.
Early life
Little is known of Blake's life. ...
, a guitarist from
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
, who recorded the song at least twice before going missing in the early 1930s. It is presumed that the unidentified musician in Juliff was merely one in a long line of people who utilized the lyric, since Blind Blake's recordings survive. The vocalist of the song states in one rendition "I just found out what Diddy Wa Diddy means," but in another, she begs for someone to explain what Diddy Wa Diddy means. Additionally, Texas author and journalist Billy Porterfield (who was no stranger to locations such as old Juliff) utilized the words as a title (Diddy Waw Diddy).
The community shipped
cotton
Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
along the river. The
saloons
Saloon may refer to:
Buildings and businesses
* One of the bars in a traditional British pub
* An alternative name for a bar (establishment)
* Western saloon, a historical style of American bar
* The Saloon, a bar and music venue in San Francis ...
in the area were also said to have moved to a place called "Mud Alley" in Richmond. The community also has much
ragweed
Ragweeds are flowering plants in the genus ''Ambrosia'' in the aster family, Asteraceae. They are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, especially North America,
Geography
Juliff is located along
Farm to Market Road 521
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...
and the
Missouri Pacific Railroad
The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad o ...
on the
Brazos River
The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...
, east of
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
Rosharon
Rosharon ( ), is a census-designated place (CDP) in Brazoria County, Texas, Brazoria County, Texas, United States, at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 521 and Farm to Market Road 1462. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, ...
in eastern Fort Bend County.
Education
Juliff is zoned to schools in the
Fort Bend Independent School District
Fort Bend Independent School District, also known as Fort Bend ISD or FBISD, is a school district that operates 86 schools in Fort Bend County. Based in Sugar Land, Texas, it is the 5th most diverse school district in Texas and is the 43rd la ...
(FBISD).
The community is within the East Division, controlling school board slots 5 through 7.
Zoned schools include:
*Heritage Rose Elementary School
*Thornton Middle School
* Almeta Crawford High School
Before the opening of
Hightower High School
Hightower High School is a secondary school (grades 9–12) located at 3333 Hurricane Lane, Missouri City, Texas, Missouri City, Texas, United States, adjacent to Fort Bend Parkway, The Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road.
Hightower is administered by ...
, Elkins High School served Juliff. For a period, Juliff was zoned to Hightower. The community was also, for a period, served by
Ridge Point High School
Ridge Point High School (RPHS) is a public high school located in Sienna (formerly Sienna Plantation), an unincorporated area and planned community in Fort Bend County, Texas.
Opened in 2010, the school serves more than 3000 students in grades 9 ...
Texas Legislature
The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. 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 p ...
specifies that the
Houston Community College
Houston Community College (HCC), also known as the Houston Community College System (HCCS), is a community college that operates community colleges in Houston, Texas, Houston, Missouri City, Texas, Missouri City, Greater Katy, and Stafford, Texas ...
(HCC) boundary includes "the part of the Fort Bend Independent School District that is not located in the service area of the Wharton County Junior College District and that is adjacent to the Houston Community College System District." Wharton College's boundary within FBISD is defined only as the City of Sugar Land and the ETJ of Sugar Land, Juliff is in neither location. - Compare with the CDP map. Juliff is in HCC. See profile page - Compare with the general location of Juliff.