Mr. Clark W. Henry originally owned the land that now comprises Jersey Village. Mr. Henry owned 1,236 acres on which he operated the F&M Dairy. The ranch was stocked with Jersey dairy cattle and at one time the dairy had one of the largest and best herds of Jersey cattle in the world. Mr. Henry also had an interesting show place on the land that is now the public right-of-way between the east and west bound lanes of U.S. Highway 290. At this show place, the public was allowed to watch the milking of cows from behind glass doors and a short distance away, ice cream that was made from the milk of these cows, was sold. Mr. Henry also had free pony rides for the children and live country western entertainment for the adults who came to buy ice cream. This was a very popular attraction with the people who lived in Houston .
Because of poor health, Mr. Henry discontinued his dairy operation and shortly thereafter began to make plans for the City of Jersey Village.
Mr. Henry and Mr. Leroy Kennedy became acquainted with each other at the Garden Oaks Baptist Church in 1953. From their friendship grew a business partnership and the groundwork for the City of Jersey Village was begun in February of 1954. Because of Mr. Henry’s success with the Jersey cattle, the two decided to use “ Jersey Village ” as the name of the new community.
In the very beginning, only five miles of streets were put in along with drainage, water sewage, gas and lights. A few homes were built along Jersey Drive and the first family moved in the latter part of October 1954.
An election to incorporate Jersey Village into a city was held on April 16, 1956, and 58 votes were cast. All 58 votes were in favor of incorporating Jersey Village into a city and on that day the City of Jersey Village was officially born. Shortly thereafter, a city election was held and a major and five councilmen were elected.
The former City Hall was given to the City as a gift from Mr. Leonard Rauch on July 6, 1972. The building had previously been used as a real estate office. It is currently being used as the administrative offices of the City’s Fire Department. A bond issue passed in 1977 enabling the City to build a new City Hall, City Garage, Park Pavilion, and expand the then existing Fire Department Building.
In August 1986, due to the growth of Jersey Village , the voters approved the Home Rule Charter for the City. Many changes have come to this “small town community” within easy commute to the “big city amenities” of Houston . Recently built facilities include a new Police Station and a new Fire Station. In 2000, a well-established private golf course was sold to the City and renamed “Jersey Meadow Golf Course”. The Houston Chronicle sports writers described it as “the best kept secret in Houston ”. Currently, over 7,500 people and a fast-growing number of businesses call the City of Jersey Village home.
History of Cypress
Rumor
has it that there's a fortune buried in Cypress. The story goes
that Mexicans heading home from East Texas were carrying a lot of wealth
with them when attacked by Indians somewhere along Cypress Creek in
the early 1830s. With nothing better to do than defend themselves, they
decided to use their spare time to dig a hole and put their Treasure
in it. Whether any of the Mexicans survived or not, the tale concludes
that the money's still in the ground. To this day, optimists continue
the search. (A favorite locale is where the Southern Pacific's railroad
tracks cross Cypress Creek, just south of the community.)
But even those who aren't dreamers have found something to treasure: the quality of life in Cypress. Since the 1840s, this rural community has attracted settlers. True, it never lived up to the name Cypress "City," which later boosters called it. The more realistic folks called it "Cypress Top," even after the Houston — Texas Central Railway line reached the town in 1856. The earliest families in the area included the Zahns, the Bahrs, the Quades, Krahns, and Matzkes. They shared a post office with the Spring Creek settlement of Rosehill. Mail reached them by train. (Tomball, closer in to Houston, had to settle for delivery by horseback.) The immigrants were industrious, and the area soon had the usual commercial establishments: a corn-cracking mill, a cotton gin and a sawmill.
Cypress, as with other places along the Gulf Coast, benefited from the turn-of-the-century oil boom. However, with Cypress the drilling took an unusual turn . . . A crew looking for oil discovered a hot artesian well. Soon there was a "Houston Hot Well Sanitarium and Hotel" near the spot. City folks came up on the train from Houston to soak themselves in mineral baths. Huge concrete basins held the waters. Today the hotel is gone, and the site occupied by a shooting range; but the concrete basins remain.
Later, the good life became even livelier, with the construction of a dance hall-made of iron-on Huffmeister Road. A more mundane (but longer-lasting) building was the Juergen's General Store, dating from 1898. Like the concrete basins at the mineral spring, this two-story structure is still present. However, unlike the basins, it's still used for its original purpose.
The Kitzmann family also had a general store in Cypress, but later moved on to other endeavors: John A. Kitzmann, a repair shop for Fords in 1920, and followed this up with a Chevrolet facility in 1927, selling cars as well as servicing them.
Today Cypress sits alongside Hempstead Road, but the community was originally located north of where it is now. Despite nearly 150 years of changes, Cypress preserves an awareness of its heritage-and an awareness of its continuing charm in the modern world.
Reprinted with permission from R— R Publishing Inc. August/September 1987.