History
BY MELISSA ENAJE
An African American male sits on a porch in what seems to be Harris County’s Poor Farm or Home for the Aged.
COURTESY HARRIS COUNTY ARCHIVES
Poor Farm Ditch traces back to county-owned farm African American residents sit at housing at the Harris County Home for the Aged. In 1921, Harris County commissioners used $80,000 to purchase 100 acres of land to build facilities for both white and African American low-income seniors. COURTESY HARRIS COUNTY ARCHIVES
Poor Farm Ditch runs through Southside Place and West University Place, and was built in the 1950s.
Poor Farm Ditch has a paradoxical name. The human-made ditch, built in the 1950s, runs through the a uent cities of Southside Place and West University Place. However, the ditch’s name harkens back to the late 1800s and early 1900s, a time when the area served as a farm for low-in- come and senior individuals. Taking a step back In Harris County’s early days, county commis- sioners purchased land to create “poor houses,” where lower income populations could live. On May 12, 1894, commissioners purchased 200 acres of land for the county’s second poor farm. The property extended north of Bellaire Boulevard to somewhere north of present-day Bissonnet Street. Its eastern boundary line is where the pres- ent Poor Farm Ditch can be found. The poor farm’s location also includes West University Place. A newspaper article from the Houston Daily Post published July 25, 1915, described the Poor Farm as being surrounded by chinaberry, cottonwood and live oak trees. The grounds were lled with owers, white buildings and “nothing like the home of the poor.” The farm was well-managed and comfortable for those who were old and alone. At the time the article was published, the farm had 68 residents, and functioned with acres of corn, a vegetable garden, at least 400 chickens, and numerous cattle, pigs, ducks and geese.
Looking back The farm took a turn in the 1920s when develop- ers began buying property and selling homesites on land adjacent to Poor Farm. Harris County commissioners at the time noted how the property value had gone up exponentially and decided to sell the property and disband the green pastures. Yet it wasn’t the end for the residents who called Poor Farm home. By 1921, county commissioners, led by County Judge Chester Bryan, used $80,000 to purchase 100 acres in eastern Harris County. There, they built facilities for low income and senior populations, both white and African Amer- ican. By March 1922, 75 eligible residents were transferred to the new facility, which was called Harris County Home for the Aged. The rising property value in the former site of the county’s Poor Farm became of interest to developers in the 1920s. On Oct. 1, 1923, the county sold the land to Charles Wood. Wood and two other developers began developing what is now Southside Place and West University Place. Drainage in the land became a problem as the lots ooded during rains in the area. A.D. Foreman became the exclusive agent for developing West U and worked with county commissioners for three years to create a solution to the problem. By 1923, Drainage District No. 12 was created. A bond issue was approved, and Brays Bayou was deepened, widened, straightened, and dredged in 1928.
SHAWN ARRAJJ COMMUNITY IMPACT
610
BUFFALO SPEEDWAY
W. HOLCOMBE BLVD.
Poor Farm Ditch
90
288
BEECHNUT ST.
N. BRAESWOOD BLVD.
BRAYS BAYOU
610
N
Current situation While ooding was a problem for West U and Southside Place, infrastructure and drainage investments addressed stormwater capacity. Jack Stopnicki serves as the Brays Bayou Associ- ation vice president and said he gives credit to the Harris County Flood Control District for improve- ments and rehabilitation to Brays Bayou. “It’s made a big di erence. Even after we just had Hurricane [Beryl], within an hour after the rain stopped, the water was already going down. It was incredible to see how fast the water drained o ,” Stopnicki said.
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BELLAIRE MEYERLAND WEST UNIVERSITY EDITION
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