Bordersville, Houston, Texas

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Country	United States
Bordersville
Location in the state of Texas
State	Texas
County	Harris County
Government
- Junior Chamber Of Commerce	The Bordersville
Area
- Total	9.4 sq mi (24.3 km²)
- Land	7.6 sq mi (19.7 km²)
- Water	2.2 sq mi (5.7 km²)
Population (2007)
- Total	951
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)

Bordersville is a predominantly African American community on FM 1960 and State Highway 184 in northeast Houston, Texas. The community is located less than one half-mile from George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

The city has an estimated population that counts somewhere in the thousands. The city now has running water and sewer services provided by the City of Houston. The land that residents live on is owned by the City of Houston. Paved streets run through the city, but not without the exception of potholes. The city of Houston has no plans to rebuild the streets that run through the city. In the near future, the George Bush Intercontinental Airport has plans to develop land to the south of the community. Most roads in the community will connect to the future Volta Road which will run to the direct south of the community, forming a "Border" between Humble and Houston.

1 History
2 Education
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Founding

Bordersville was established in an unincorporated section of Harris County, Texas in 1927 after the closing of a sawmill in the nearby city of Humble. African-Americans formerly employed at the mill were forced to leave. A man named Edgar Borders opened a mill close in proximity to the closed sawmill and employed some of the former Humble sawmill workers. Borders created wooden shacks to house workers.

[edit] 1940s

In 1940, Bordersville contained 100 residents. Bordersville, served by the Aldine Independent School District, was five miles from the closest public schools.

Bordersville was around thirty-five miles from Ben Taub Hospital, grocery stores, and libraries.

Borders closed the mill in 1941. During the same year, he rented and sold the land within Bordersville to its residents.

[edit] 1960s

Borders died in 1963. Most Bordersville citizens did not own their land. No individuals forced the Bordersville residents out of their homes.

Throughout the 1960s, residents founded a civic club which became the Bordersville Neighborhood Council. Many citizens became members of the Houston Junior Chambers of Commerce. Some citizens created a water well, and others painted area houses.

The City of Houston annexed Bordersville in 1965. During that year, the basic housing and the lack of paved streets, running water, and sewers convinced some Houstonians that Bordersville had the most severe poverty in the city limits.

Residents paid city taxes and did not receive city utilities.

[edit] 1970s

The Three H Service Center, referring to Houston, Humble, and Harris County, opened in 1974. The center, serving people living within a twenty-mile radius, opened partly due to a grant from the United States Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration. The Three H Service Center received funding from Houston and federal agencies and local churches. With a volunteer staff, the center established various services, including day care, tutoring, a health clinic, public bathing facilities for homeless, a senior citizen center, literacy classes, youth and elderly employment, and summer recreational activities.

In 1975, Bordersville had 550 residents. Residents earned annual incomes averaging to between $2,500 and $3,500 United States dollars.

Fire trucks of the Houston Fire Department delivered water for bathing, cooking, and drinking on a twice-weekly basis during 1975.

[edit] 1980s

Water service lines opened in 1981.

In the 1980s, the Three H Service Center collaborated in an organization of funding to install sink, bathtub, and toilet facilities in Bordersville residences.

In 1985, 700 citizens lived in 120 residences in Bordersville. Maps in the 1980s revealed four churches in the Bordersville area.

During the same year, most residences cooked food on wood stoves and with outdoor appliances. The community lacked public transportation access. Many residents relied on Social Security.

In the late 1980s, few people wished to aid the Bordersville community because many Houstonians believed that the land would be sold to commercial and/or industrial developers.