When the city of Houston was founded in 1836 and incorporated in 1837, its founders—John Kirby Allen and Augustus Chapman Allen—divided it into political geographic districts called "wards." 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.
In 1839, Houston's civic leaders divided the city into four wards. The Fifth Ward was added in 1866 to accommodate the city's growth, and by the Sixth Ward in the following decade. The idea was not to have an equal number of residents in each but rather to draw lines along natural boundaries: Buffalo Bayou, Main Street, and Congress Street.
Today, the wards are a civic phenomenon, loosely defined by geography and with no direct bearing on city government.
Contents |
First Ward
Second Ward
Third Ward
- Main article: Third Ward, Houston, Texas
Fourth Ward
- Main article: Fourth Ward, Houston, Texas
Fifth Ward
- Main article: Fifth Ward, Houston, Texas
Sixth Ward
External links
A map of the boundaries of the boundaries of the wards from a Houston Chronicle feature article on the wards can be found here: http://images.chron.com/content/news/photos/06/02/08/wards.pdf
References
External links
- Pride lives on in city's six historical wards. Jeannie Kever, Houston Chronicle. February 8, 2006. Last accessed November 19, 2006.
- Where the Wards are. Houston Chronicle. 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.
- About TSU > Community > Third Ward. Texas Southern University. Last accessed November 19, 2006.
- Super Neighborhood #67 Greater Third Ward
- Future development eyed for Lower Fifth Ward Houston Chronicle February 6, 2008
- Sixth Ward, Houston from the Handbook of Texas Online
- Fifth Ward Community Website
- First Ward Neighborhood Portrait
- OSWNAOSW Neighborhood Assoc.
- Sixth Ward
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