Houston Historical Timeline
Explore Houston's history by decade in this interactive timeline.
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Just months after Texas won its independence from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto, brothers John Kirby Allen and Augustus Chapman Allen purchased a little over 6,600 acres on the banks of Buffalo Bayou for a new town. For an investment of less than $10,000, the duo would become the founding fathers of Houston and what began as a struggling trading post would in time become the fourth largest city in the nation and a capital of industry.

Explore the history of Houston by decade in this interactive timeline.

Houston's birth coincides with Texas' battle for independence as the new town struggles to create an identity.

The decade ushers in a Chamber of Commerce for Houston, the first sustained media outlet for the region, and statehood for Texas.

Houston's identity as a trading hub emerges with improvements to Buffalo Bayou and the first railroad.

Commerce continues to grow in the 1860s as Houston introduces the first iteration of public transportation.

The idea of a dedicated ship channel crystallizes, setting the stage for Houston's future as a global trading hub.

Electric power and a dedicated communications grid top infrastructure improvements in the 1880s.

A professional fire department and a dedicated city park help elevate Houston moving into the 1900s.

A devastating hurricane in Galveston and the discovery of oil at Spindletop set in motion a reversal of fortunes for Houston and Galveston as economic momentum moves from the island community to its inland sister.

A higher education institution and a large public park add to the infrastructure investments in Houston while a new ship channel opens a gateway to global trade.

Air-conditioning is first introduced in a public building in the 1920s. In later decades the technology would revolutionize Houston's quality of life, minimizing the effect of the sub-tropical climate on its residents and prompting a building boom.

Houston becomes the most populous city in Texas for the first time in the 1930s and a new perennial event comes to dominate the city's social calendar.

In a single night in the late 1940s, the city of Houston nearly triples in size. Meanwhile, the beginning of the Texas Medical Center establishes the city as a hub for health care and cutting edge medical treatment.

In the post-WWII years, the city turns to investing in the arts with the creation of the Houston Grand Opera and the Houston Ballet.

The 1960s bring the Space Age to Houston with the creation of NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center, later Johnson Space Center. Before the end of the decade, the nation will put two men on the moon in a mission directed from Houston.

The 1970s bring energy consolidation to Houston and an indoor mall that would revolutionize the shopping experience.

The recession of the 1980s hits Houston hard, particularly the dominant energy sector. Nearly one out of six jobs in the region are lost before Houston recovers. The recession prompts a new focus on diversifying the local economy.

The voters of Houston reject zoning laws for the third and final time in the 1990s forcing city leaders to regulate development through other means.

Major storms are a continuing theme throughout the decade. Houston opens its arms to evacuees from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast during Hurricane Katrina only to be devastated itself three years later by Hurricane Ike. Such storms prompt a conversation around resiliency and how to make coastal communities safer.