Spring Branch, Houston facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Spring Branch East/West
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Houston, Texas, neighborhood
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| Elevation | 26 m (85 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 134,225 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP codes |
77080, 77041, 77043, 77055
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Spring Branch is a large area in the western part of Harris County, Texas. It's mostly inside the city of Houston. The area is managed by the Spring Branch Management District, which was set up by the Texas government.
Several small streams, called bayous, flow through Spring Branch. These include Brickhouse Gully, Spring Branch (which the area is named after), and Briar Branch. They all eventually flow into Buffalo Bayou in central Houston. There's also a large pond called Spring Lake in the middle of the neighborhood.
Spring Branch is home to many different communities, including people from Korea and Hispanic families. It first started in the 1800s as a rural community settled by people from Germany. By 2020, Spring Branch East/West had grown, adding over 7,000 new residents and more than 400 new homes.
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History of Spring Branch
Spring Branch began as a settlement for German farmers who were often dairy owners. Karl Kolbe, who came from Germany in 1830, was one of the first settlers here. These early German settlers also opened sawmills to cut down trees.
In 1848, St. Peter's United (Lutheran) Church was built on land given by the Bauer family. The wood for the church came from local sawmills. The Spring Branch School Society, supported by the church in 1856, later grew into the Spring Branch Independent School District.
Many of the first families had roads named after them, like Gessner, Conrad Sauer, Witte, Wirt, Blalock, Campbell, Hillendahl, Bauer, Fries, and Neuens.
After World War II, a developer named James E. Lyon helped build up Spring Branch. The eastern part of Spring Branch became part of Houston in the 1940s, and the western part joined in the 1950s. In the mid-1950s, there was an attempt to make Spring Branch its own city, but it didn't work out. After that, a group of six independent towns called the Memorial villages formed nearby. Houston then took over the rest of the Spring Branch area.
In the mid-to-late 1900s, Spring Branch felt like a country suburb with dirt roads and horses. Spring Branch Elementary School, for example, was an all-White school at that time.
Around the 1970s, many apartment buildings were built in Spring Branch. In 1982, there was a plan to build new public housing, but many local groups and leaders were against it, so the plan was stopped.
By the 1980s, Houston's economy faced tough times, and many apartments became empty. Some apartment complexes had problems with maintenance. However, many of these poorly kept apartments were right next to well-maintained family homes.
From 1980 to 1990, many Hispanic families moved into parts of Spring Branch, especially from Central American countries. The number of Hispanic residents grew a lot. In 1997, a newspaper chief said that the Korean community in Spring Branch, sometimes called Koreatown, grew because housing was affordable and it was zoned for the good Spring Branch Independent School District. In 1998 and 2001, a plan to add Korean language street signs in Koreatown caused some debate and was eventually withdrawn.
By 2006, Spring Branch Elementary School mostly had Hispanic students, showing how the area's population had changed. By 2007, many older houses were being replaced with newer ones. New homeowners came to Spring Branch because they could buy larger plots of land for less money than in areas closer to Downtown Houston. People also liked that it was close to Downtown, Uptown, and the Energy Corridor.
In 2013, Houstonia magazine named Spring Branch one of Houston's "25 Hottest Neighborhoods."
What Spring Branch Looks Like
Spring Branch is generally bordered by major roads: Beltway 8 to the west, the 610 Loop to the east, Interstate 10 to the south, and U.S. Highway 290 and Tanner Road to the north.
The area is easy to reach from these major highways. It's also close to important parts of Houston like Downtown Houston, the Energy Corridor, the Memorial City District (which has Memorial City Mall and a big hospital), the Texas Medical Center, Uptown Houston (with The Galleria mall), and Westchase.
In 2012, a journalist described Spring Branch as having "avenues lined with orderly yards and American flags" next to "shopping centers where Spanish dominates." This shows the mix of cultures in the area.
Spring Branch has many different types of homes. In Spring Branch West, you can find many 1960s ranch-style houses. The central part of Spring Branch has houses that were worth about $500,000 in 2012. The eastern part, which has more working-class families, has many bungalow houses with wood siding. For a long time, Spring Branch had a rural feel, and it wasn't unusual to see pastures with horses, a reminder of its past as farmland.
In 1983, Spring Branch had many businesses that served the Korean community, like a travel agent, an optical shop, restaurants, a newsstand, a bookstore, a pharmacy, and a furniture store.
Businesses and Economy
Spring Branch is known for its many "old-school ethnic eateries," which are restaurants serving traditional foods from different cultures. Long Point Road, a main road in Spring Branch, is also known for its thrift stores and has few big chain businesses. The Koreatown part of Spring Branch has many Korean restaurants.
Several companies have their main offices or important centers in Spring Branch:
- La Michoacana Meat Market
- BJ Services Company
- Tesco Corporation
- Cameron International Corporation's Drilling and Production Systems center
In the past, Igloo Corporation, known for its coolers, had a factory and its headquarters in Spring Branch. However, they moved to a new location near Katy in 2004. Other companies that used to have their headquarters here include Weiner's and AppleTree Markets.
By 2008, a large Korean American supermarket called Super H Mart opened in Spring Branch. This supermarket helped bring more development to the area.
Consulates in Spring Branch
A consulate is like an embassy, but it focuses more on helping citizens and promoting trade. The Consulate-General of El Salvador in Houston is located in Spring Branch at 1720 Hillendahl Boulevard.
Population Changes
Between 1990 and 2000, Spring Branch saw a big increase in its Hispanic and Korean residents. This led to many White residents moving out. Experts say that the White population left not because of racial differences, but because the new residents were often working-class, which was a change for the area.
In 2000, the different parts of Spring Branch had varied populations:
- Westbranch: About 35% Hispanic, 29% White, 28% Asian.
- Spring Branch West: Over 52% Hispanic, about 35% White.
- Spring Branch North: About 34% Hispanic, nearly 49% White.
- Spring Branch Central: Over 64% Hispanic, about 26% White.
- Spring Branch East: Over 61% Hispanic, about 29% White.
These numbers show how diverse Spring Branch has become.
Education in Spring Branch
Public Schools
Most of Spring Branch is served by the Spring Branch Independent School District (SBISD). This district also covers the Memorial area and several smaller cities.
Middle schools in SBISD that serve Spring Branch include Landrum Middle School, Northbrook Middle School, Spring Oaks Middle School, and Spring Woods Middle School. Some students also attend Spring Forest Middle School in Memorial or Spring Branch Middle School in Hedwig Village.
Most high school students in Spring Branch attend Spring Woods High School or Northbrook High School. Some southern parts of west Spring Branch are zoned to Stratford High School in Memorial. A few areas near Westview and Interstate 10 go to Memorial High School in Hedwig Village.
A small part of Spring Branch is in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District. Students in this area attend Bane Elementary, Kirk Elementary, or Lee Elementary. For middle school, they go to Dean Middle School or Truitt Middle School. All high school students in this part attend Cypress Ridge High School.
There's also a tiny industrial and commercial area in Spring Branch that is part of the Houston Independent School District.
Private Schools
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston runs two schools in Spring Branch:
- The Regis School of the Sacred Heart: A school for boys from kindergarten to 8th grade.
- St. Jerome School: A school for both boys and girls from kindergarten to 8th grade.
For high school, Saint John XXIII High School (formerly Pope John XXIII High School) is nearby.
Other private schools in Spring Branch include:
- The Awty International School
- Houston Christian High School
- Fair Haven Day Methodist School
- Houston Sudbury School
- ILM Academy (Islamic Education Institute of Texas) at Spring Branch Islamic Center
- St. Mark Lutheran School
- The Monarch School (which moved all its programs to a new campus in Spring Branch in 2009)
- Western Academy: A private school for boys from 3rd to 8th grade.
School of the Woods, a Montessori school for all ages up to 12th grade, is in nearby Hilshire Village.
Colleges
The Houston Community College System (HCC) serves the Spring Branch ISD area. HCC has its Spring Branch Center, part of the Northwest College, in Memorial City. This center is located inside the former Town and Country Mall.
Lone Star College serves the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD area of Spring Branch.
Public Libraries
The Houston Public Library has two branches in Spring Branch:
- Arnold L. Hillendahl Neighborhood Library at 2436 Gessner Road
- Elizabeth L. Ring Neighborhood Library at 8835 Long Point Road
The Harris County Public Library (HCPL) system also has a branch nearby:
- Spring Branch Memorial Branch at 930 Corbindale Road in Hedwig Village. This branch opened in 1975.
Parks and Recreation
Spring Branch has many parks run by both the city and county governments.
The Houston Parks and Recreation Department manages city parks:
- Agnes Moffit Park: Located at 10645 Hammerly Boulevard, it has a swimming pool and a golf course.
- R.L. and Cora Johnson Park: Located at 9791 Tanner Road.
- R. L. and Cora Johnson Community Center: Next to the park at 9801 Tanner Road, it has a walking and bike trail, a playground, a basketball court, and tennis courts.
- Freed Park and Community Center: Located at 7020 Shadyvilla Lane, it has an indoor gym, a walking and bike trail, a playground, and a lighted sports field.
- Schwartz Park: Located at 8203 Vogue.
Harris County Precinct 3 operates county parks:
- Nob Hill Park: A 13-acre park at 10300 Timber Oak Drive with a walking trail, picnic areas, a playground, a gazebo, and a softball field.
- Spring Branch Pocket Park: A 1-acre park at 1700 Campbell Road with a trail, playground, and gazebo.
- Housman Pocket Park: A 1-acre park at 6705 Housman Street with a trail, playground, and gazebo.
- Moritz Pech Family Park: A 1-acre park at 1493½ Moritz Drive with two playgrounds and a jogging trail.
- Creek Pocket Park: A 1-acre park at 1701 Creek Drive with a trail.
- Bracher Pocket Park: A 0.21-acre park at 1507½ Bracher Street with a gravel trail, playground, and gazebo.
- Bauer Pocket Park: A 0.65-acre park at 2201 Bauer Road with a trail.
- Gessner Pocket Park: A 1-acre park at 1610½ Gessner Drive with a trail and a playground.
Culture and Community
The Spring Branch Family Development Center opened in 2001. It helps residents of Spring Branch by offering educational, recreational, health, and social services.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston runs several Catholic churches in the area:
- St. Andrew Kim Catholic Church: Named after Andrew Kim Taegon, this church serves Korean people and Korean speakers in the area.
- Our Lady of Czestochowa Roman Catholic Parish: This church serves the Polish American community and was started in the 1980s when Polish immigrants came to Houston.
- Other Catholic churches include Our Lady of Walsingham Church, St. Catherine of Siena Church, and St. Jerome Church.
The Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH) has a place of worship for Muslims called the Spring Branch Islamic Center. This center also houses the Islamic primary school ILM Academy.
Notable People from Spring Branch
- Helena Brown: A former member of the Houston City Council for District A.
Images for kids
See also
In Spanish: Spring Branch (Houston) para niños
