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The City of Houston was founded in 1836 on the banks of Buffalo Bayou, which provided a water route to the Gulf of Mexico. Destructive flooding had been reported as early as 1843, but was not considered a large problem because of the low population density of Houston and Harris County before the 1950's. The Houston Ship channel was built in 1915 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Houston soon after became a major outlet for agricultural and petroleum products. The Brays Bayou watershed, which drains approximately 128 sq. mi., is located in southwest Harris County and runs through the cities of Houston, Missouri City, Stafford, Bellaire, West University, and Southside Place. Brays Bayou flows in an eastward direction for 31 miles from its headwaters in Fort Bend County to its confluence with the Houston Ship Channel. Except for the western regions, undeveloped areas of significant size are rare. Included in the Brays Bayou watershed are critical developments such as the Texas Medical Center, the Houston Zoo, Houston Baptist University, Rice University, and the intensely developed commercial corridor along the Loop 610 and U.S. 59 interchange. >> |
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Page 1: History of Houston and Brays Bayou |
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