HISTORY
BY VANESSA HOLT
What’s in a name?
George Mitchell’s namesakes Woodlands founder remembered at centenary
GEORGE M I TCHE L L
Before settling on The Woodlands as a name for his community development, George Mitchell considered several names, including Cross Timbers, according to former associate Coulson Tough. The Mitchell name can be found on various other local landmarks, now including a portion of I-45.
Although The Woodlands started with just a few hundred residents and has grown to about ,, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Roger Galatas, former president of The Woodlands Corp., said while Mitchell was involved in the creation of numerous public entities within The Woodlands, including the nonprot research group Houston Advanced Research Center and social service agency Interfaith of The Woodlands, only a few bear his name. An intermediate school on Conroe ISD, a county library, a performing arts center and a nature preserve are named for Mitchell and his wife, Cynthia Woods Mitchell. Another milestone, the th anniversary of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, was celebrated by the arts venue in April. Mitchell also emphasized sustain- ability and natural preservation in developing the community, and he set aside a large portion for open space with an eye to preserving natural habitat and wildowers, Galatas said. George Mitchell Nature Preserve opened in South Montgomery in . “There’s % in open space [in The Woodlands], and that was very important to him, to live with nature,” he said. WIth the addition of I- as The Woodlands founder’s latest name- sake, his former associates said his signicance to the community can be recognized by more people traveling in and through the area. “He was the ultimate visionary, look- ing ahead and to see ... the future,” said Karen West, a friend and former attorney for The Woodlands Corp.
R esidents of The Woodlands may be familiar with the name of entrepreneur George P. Mitchell, who founded the community in . But some who knew him said they hope the public institutions named aer him—including, most recently, a section of I- —will serve to remind residents of his vision for a sustainable master-planned community. Mitchell, who died in , would have turned on May , and The Woodlands also reaches a milestone this year, marking years as a com- munity in October. Having amassed wealth as the founder of Mitchell Energy and Development Corp. in the mid-th century, Mitchell was known for pioneering a successful approach— fracking—to extract natural gas from shale. But locally, he is known for bringing his community vision to fruition with the development of The Woodlands. “He wanted to revitalize living in the greater metropolitan area. … Cities were rotting, and this was something to refresh the area,” said Steve Leakey, a member of George’s Coee Club, a nonprot group dedicated to bringing about community awareness of Mitch- ell’s contributions. On June , Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law House Bill , a piece of legislation written by state Rep. Steve Toth, R-Woodlands, and Rep. Will Met- calf, R-Conroe, and sponsored by state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe. The bill designates the portion of I- between Hwy. and the Montgom- ery-Harris county line as the George P. Mitchell Memorial Highway in recogni- tion of his contribution to the area.
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ALDEN BRIDGE DR.
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ASHLANE WAY
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LAKE ROBBINS DR.
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CynthiaWoods Mitchell Pavilion The arts center, named after George Mitchell’s wife, opened in 1979.
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George P. Mitchell Intermediate School The Conroe ISD school serves grades five and six and opened in 1996.
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George and CynthiaWoods Mitchell Library The local branch of the Montgomery County Memorial Library System on Ashlane Way opened in 2005. George Mitchell Nature Preserve The 1,800-acre preserve that opened in 2007 connects to the Spring Creek Greenway and features hiking trails. George P. Mitchell Memorial Highway Legislation signed by Gov. Greg Abbott this year names a portion of I-45 in The Woodlands area after the community founder.
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SOURCES:CYNTHIAWOODSMITCHELLPAVILION,CONROE ISD,MONTGOMERYCOUNTYMEMORIALLIBRARYSYSTEM, TEXASLEGISLATURE,THEWOODLANDSTOWNSHIP/COMMUNITY IMPACTNEWSPAPER
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The Woodlands edition • July 2019
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