A guide to the history of the Bayou City for Texans, visitors and armchair tourists alike.
Houston earned its international reputation as a hub for space flight and the oil industry. But visitors don't need to search out the secrets of the stars or the depths of the earth to experience the impressive legacy of the nation's fourth-largest city. Traverse the streets of downtown and find historic treasures from antebellum Texas. Venture to the outskirts to find the world’s “Eighth Wonder,” as well as the globe’s tallest stone monument and one of its largest ports. Discover why the town’s exceptional heritage of innovation, industry and architecture has sparked a movement to uncover and embrace its historic structures. Join Tristan Smith for an in-depth exploration of Houston’s historic wards.
Tristan Smith is an independent historian living in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, with his family. He has worked for museums and nonprofits in Kansas, Missouri and Texas for more than twenty years in marketing, curatorial, education, volunteer, management and administrative capacities. Museums he’s been involved with have featured natural history, the 1950s, fine art, community history, a sunken steamboat found in a Kansas cornfield, a U.S. president and fire history. He has also consulted organizations and municipalities in historic preservation. He is the author of Images of America: Houston Fire Department, published by Arcadia Publishing in 2015.