Bammel, Texas facts for kids
Bammel is a small community located in Harris County, Texas, in the United States. It's not an official city, but it's a place where people live and work.
A Look Back at Bammel
Bammel is about 18 miles north of downtown Houston, Texas. It's located where Farm-to-Market Road 1960 and Kuykendahl Road meet. This community started after other nearby towns like Klein, Westfield, and Spring were already established.
The community got its name from Charles Bammel. He was a German man from Houston. In 1915, he built a store called Bammel and Kuehnle Merchandise with his partner. He moved to the area for health reasons.
Bammel even had its own post office from 1916 to 1929. Herman Kuehnle was the first postmaster there. The original Bammel store burned down in 1927. But it was rebuilt later! It then served a new neighborhood called Bammel Forest.
For a while, from 1929, only about 50 people lived in Bammel. But then, something big happened in 1938: oil was found nearby! By 1943, the community grew to about 200 people and had two stores. However, by 1949, the population was estimated to be only 20. In the 1980s, many people living in Bammel worked in Houston and commuted there. The community had two shopping centers, several schools, a hospital, and nearby cemeteries.
Learning in Bammel
The Spring Independent School District runs the schools in the Bammel area.
A long time ago, in the 1900s, there was a school with just one room. About 30 children were taught by one teacher there. A man named Mr. Harrell donated the building for this school. Later, a fire burned the building down. But people from Spring, Texas helped to rebuild the school. In 1900, another one-room school opened on the Bender Estate. A year later, it moved to Spring.
Bammel's Economy
Bammel is home to the Bammel Gas Storage facility. This is one of the largest underground natural gas storage places in North America. It can hold a huge amount of gas, about 118 billion cubic feet! It's in a great spot because it's connected to the HPL gas pipeline system. The gas stored here is important for places like the Houston Ship Channel and Houston's gas distribution company. American Electric Power bought this facility from Enron in 2001.
