Humble ( ) is a city located in the Houston metropolitan area. Humble became an oil boomtown in the early 20th century when oil was first discovered there in 1904. By 1905, the Humble oilfield was the largest producing oilfield in Texas.

History

thumb|Sign marking Humble

Contemporary settlement of the Humble area began in the early 19th century. Joseph Dunman is believed to be the first settler in 1828. A ferry was built nearby, across the San Jacinto River. The area of Humble became a center for commercial activity due to the region's large oil industry. The city got its name from one of the original founders/settlers, Pleasant Smith Humble, who opened the first post office in his home and later served as justice of the peace. In 1883, a city directory reported that he operated a fruit stand. In 1885, he was a wood dealer, and in 1900, the District 99, Justice Pct. 4, Harris Co., Texas Census reported his occupation as attorney at law.

Humble became an oil boomtown in the early 1900s when oil was first produced there. The first oil was produced a couple years after the famous Spindletop discovery in Beaumont, Texas. Railroad linkage was established in 1904, and shortly thereafter the first tank car of oil was shipped out of Humble's oil field. By

1905 the Humble oilfield was the biggest producing field in Texas.

Geography

thumb|Map of Humble

Humble is located at (29.994920, –95.264873). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and 0.10% is water.

Downtown Humble is located on a salt dome. Most of the petroleum production is shallow and encircles the city by about a radius.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Humble has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Humble city, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>

!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|-

|White alone (NH)

|8,295

|4,964

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,807

|56.90%

|32.80%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |22.67%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|2,075

|3,193

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,596

|14.23%

|21.10%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |27.37%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|72

|45

|style='background: #ffffe6; |31

|0.49%

|0.30%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.18%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|468

|399

|style='background: #ffffe6; |408

|3.21%

|2.64%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.43%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|30

|129

|style='background: #ffffe6; |241

|0.21%

|0.85%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.43%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|16

|19

|style='background: #ffffe6; |74

|0.11%

|0.13%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.44%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|217

|150

|style='background: #ffffe6; |447

|1.49%

|0.99%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.66%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|3,406

|6,234

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7,191

|23.36%

|41.19%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |42.82%

|-

|Total

|14,579

|15,133

|style='background: #ffffe6; |16,795

|100.00%

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

|}

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 16,795 people, 6,151 households, and 3,411 families residing in Humble. The median age was 33.7 years, with 25.9% of residents under the age of 18 and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.5 males age 18 and over.

There were 6,151 households in Humble, of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 36.0% were married-couple households, 20.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census

! Race !! Number !! Percent

|-

| White || 5,187 || 30.9%

|-

| Black or African American || 4,691 || 27.9%

|-

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 209 || 1.2%

|-

| Asian || 417 || 2.5%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 250 || 1.5%

|-

| Some other race || 3,151 || 18.8%

|-

| Two or more races || 2,890 || 17.2%

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 7,191 || 42.8%

|}

2000 census

As of the census

Economy

Petroleum has been the basis of Humble's economy since its beginning. The city was the namesake for Humble Oil and Refining Company, which later merged with the Exxon corporation.

Parks and recreation

The Shell Houston Open, an annual PGA Tour event is played at Golf Club of Houston, located in an unincorporated area near Humble. The event takes place at the end of March-beginning of April. The event has historically been one week before the Masters Tournament, the season's first major.

Government

thumb|Humble City Hall

County, state, and federal representation

Harris County operates a tax office at 7900 Will Clayton Parkway in Humble.

The U.S. Postal Service operates the Humble Post Office. Some locations in the City of Houston have Humble mailing addresses.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

thumb|[[Humble High School]]

The majority of the city of Humble is served by the Humble Independent School District.

The city of Humble has three public elementary schools:

  • Humble Elementary School
  • Jack M. Fields, Senior Elementary School
  • Lakeland Elementary School

Humble is served by Ross Sterling Middle School (formerly by Humble Middle School), and Humble High School.<!--Only list high schools that specifically serve the Humble city limits! Many Humble ISD schools have Humble, Texas addresses, but they are **not** in the city of Humble and/or do **not** serve sections of the city of Humble. To prove a high school serves the city of Humble, you need:

  • A. The Humble city limits map ( a zoning map is useful as it shows which areas are residential)
  • B. The attendance boundary map of the school

if they coincide, they serve the city!

-->

All students attending the Humble Independent School District have the option to apply to Guy M. Sconzo Early College, a magnet high school that as of the 2016–2017 school year is contained within but separated from Humble High School. A portion of the city limits is within the Aldine Independent School District (AISD). AISD built Marine D. Jones Middle School (initially named Townsen Boulevard Middle School) in the Humble city limits.

A Christian Prek-12 Humble Christian School, is in Humble. Humble Christian School allows opportunities to families who come from Christian backgrounds. Catholic K–8, St. Mary Magdalene School, is in Humble. The closest Catholic high school is Frassati Catholic High School in north Harris County; the planners of the school intended for it to serve Humble. Holy Trinity Episcopal School, a Christian PK–5 school, is in Harris County, in proximity to Humble. Christian Life Center Academy, a private school, was in a section of the city of Houston, near Humble, while having an Humble postal address.<!--The school had an Humble address but was in the Houston city limits--> It is now in the Kingwood area of Houston.

Community colleges

Lone Star College System (formerly the North Harris Montgomery Community College District) serves the area. In 1972, residents of Humble ISD and two other K–12 school districts voted to create the North Harris County College District. The community college district began operations in the Harris County/Montgomery County's northern hemisphere in the fall of 1973. The Humble area is currently served by Lone Star College, Kingwood which operates the Humble Center for outreach.

Public libraries

thumb|Octavia Fields Branch Library

The Harris County Public Library Octavia Fields Branch Library is located at 1503 South Houston Avenue in Humble. Humble's first public library opened in 1921 with the books stored in the high school. In 1923 the library was split between the Humble High School and the Woodward School at Moonshine Hill. In 1926 the library moved to a church. In 1928 the library moved into the then-new Humble courthouse. In the early 1930s the library moved to city hall. In 1932 the city hall courtroom became a reading room. In the early 1960s a man named Tom Shelton donated a house and lot at the intersection of First Street and Avenue D. The house was remodeled and opened as the Shelton Memorial Library. On October 9, 1969, the library moved to 111 West Higgins Street. It received the name Octavia Fields Memorial Library from Octavia Fields, the grandmother of Jack Fields, a former Congress member. The current branch opened on June 27, 2001.

Some areas outside of Humble with Humble postal addresses are in proximity to the Baldwin Boettcher Branch Library at Mercer Park. The branch opened in 1986. It was built on donated land. It was named after Baldwin Boettcher, a German settler. His descendants deeded the homestead to Harris County. The plans said that the Boettcher staff would assist the Mercer Park staff in finding any botanical reference books that they or the public need.

Media

Humble news is reported in three community newspapers: Community Impact Newspaper Lake Houston/Humble/Kingwood edition, The Tribune Newspaper and The Observer Newspaper. Community Impact Newspaper covers several Houston Metro suburban areas as well as Austin and DFW Metro markets. The Observer is also the business location of Christian radio station KSBJ, call sign 89.3 FM radio.

Houston Chronicle is the metrowide paper.

Infrastructure

Health care

Harris County Hospital District operates the E. A. "Squatty" Lyons Health Center in Humble. The clinic opened in 1991, replacing a clinic in Bordersville. The nearest public hospital is Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital in northeast Houston.

Humble Surgical Hospital is a multi-specialty, physician-owned surgical hospital. Humble Surgical Hospital opened in 2010.

Postal service

The United States Postal Service Humble Post Office is located at 1202 1st Street East. The Foxbrook Finance Unit is located near Humble in an unincorporated area; On Monday May 10, 2008, the Foxbrook post office was dedicated as the "Texas Military Veterans Post Office" in a ceremony hosted by U.S. Congressperson Ted Poe.

Prison system

  • Pam Lychner State Jail, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice state jail for men, is located in Atascocita in unincorporated northeast Harris County, east of Humble.

Notable people

  • Imad Baba, soccer player
  • Nidal Baba, soccer player
  • Jackie Battle, NFL football player
  • Bertrand Berry, NFL football player
  • Sam Cosmi, NFL/Romanian football player
  • Dan Crenshaw, U.S. representative
  • Leon Flach, soccer player
  • The Grappler, professional wrestler
  • Alberto Gonzales, 80th United States Attorney General
  • Dan Huberty, Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from Humble since 2011
  • Howard Hughes, entrepreneur, aerospace engineer, filmmaker, inventor, investor, aviator, philanthropist
  • Jerrod Johnson, NFL football player
  • Donny Kelley, racing driver
  • Wakaichiro Ken, sumo wrestler
  • David Kersh, country singer
  • Bizzle, Christian Rapper
  • Hailey Kilgore, actress and singer
  • David Meece, Christian musician
  • Stephan McCurley, racing driver
  • Aaron Glenn, head coach of the New York Jets and former NFL football player

Literary references

Humble is the site of a Confederate concentration camp in Harry Turtledove's alternate history novel Settling Accounts: In at the Death.

<gallery>

File:HumbleMunicipalCourt.JPG|Humble Municipal Court

File:HumbleTXCriminalJustice.JPG|Humble Criminal Justice Center and Humble Police Department

File:HarrisCountyHumbleTXAnnex.JPG|Harris County Courthouse Annex No. 3

File:Old San Jacinto River Truss Bridge -- Humble, Texas.jpg|Old San Jacinto River Truss Bridge

File:HirschParkHumbleTX.JPG|Hirsch Memorial Park

File:LyonsClinicHumbleTX.JPG|E. A. Squatty Lyons Health Center

File:Oil field, Humble, Texas.jpg|Oil field, Humble, Texas (postcard, c. 1836–2001)

File:Charles Bender High School, 1939.tiff|Former Charles Bender High School building

Image:Humblewatertower.jpg|A water tower in Humble; the Wildcats are the Humble High School football team

</gallery>

References

  • History of Humble
  • Handbook of Texas Online article
  • ePodunk: Profile for Humble, Texas
  • City-Data/com