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Spanish missionaries and conquistadors settled in the area and in 1837 Montgomery County was established by Governor Sam Houston. Montgomery County was the third county established in the Republic of Texas. Located across the east fork of the San Jacinto River, East Montgomery County has a rich history as well, with some of the earliest settlers making their way here in the 1860’s. Over the years other communities including Porter, New Caney, Splendora, and Grangerland were started and continue to thrive today. Following the development of Bush Intercontinental Airport on the north side of Houston new subdivisions began and brought Roman Forest, Woodbranch Village, Patton Village, and Kingwood. In the early 1840’s settlers were drawn to this area by the large timber stands covering the land. Sawmills became the main economic force. Located on the Texas and New Orleans Railroad the community of Porter was originally called Porter Mill, after the first sawmill in the area. Just up the road Presswood and the Boggy District were founded. In 1862 Captain John Robertson petitioned the Post Office for the name Caney, Texas but found out that there was already a town with the same name, thus the name New Caney was established to avoid confusion with the other town. In 1907 Dr. Edwin Granger founded the area known as Grangerland. A cotton gin was built, and his sons S.D. and Wyn built “Granger Camp” for the oil field families. Splendora, just six miles north of New Caney, was developed in the 1880’s by Charles Cox. It became known as Cox’s Switch since Mr. Cox was instrumental in having the HE&WT Railroad put in a narrow gauge spur from Houston for crossties and lumber, resulting in many railroad and lumber related jobs. In 1886, Mr. Cox asked Postmaster M Z King to rename the town Splendora because of the “splendor of its floral environment”. Patton Village was developed by William Patton in the 1950’s as the area’s first real estate development. In the 1960’s Woodbranch Village and Roman Forest, Houston’s “satellite city” became the area’s more restricted real estate developments. Over the last forty years Kingwood and other developments have been established. Kingwood became one of the most successful master planned communities in the nation and today is home to more than 70,000 residents. In 1994, a 4,919.5 acre state park with 2,404 acres in East Montgomery County was opened. Entrance to the park is just east of New Caney on FM1485. Also that year, Highway 242 was opened, connecting the area to Interstate 45 and the western portion of the county. Our convenient location, less than thirty miles northeast of downtown Houston along U S Highway 59, East Montgomery County is experiencing robust population and commercial growth. Numerous new subdivisions and expansion of existing developments are underway. New commercial tracts are being developed as well. Located less than twenty minutes from George Bush Intercontinental Airport and close to the Port of Houston the area is a prime location for commercial and residential development.
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