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Humble is a city in Harris County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 14,579.

Petroleum has been the basis of Humble's economy since its beginning. Loch Energy is headquartered in Humble; the city was the namesake for Humble Oil, which later merged with the Exxon corporation.

The city got its name from one of the original founders/settlers, a successful wildcatter originally from England named Pleasant Smith "Plez" Humble, who opened the first post office in his home and later served as justice of the peace. The proper pronunciation of the city is "umble" (the "H" being silent), as Plez pronounced his last name in that manner.

Geography

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Humble is located at (29.994920, -95.264873).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.6 km² (9.9 mi²). 25.6 km² (9.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.10% is water.

Downtown Humble is located on a salt dome and most of the petroleum production is shallow and encircles the city by about a 2.5 mile radius.

History

The first settlers began moving into the Humble area in the early 1800's. Joseph Dunman was thought to be the first person to settle here and was believed to have arrived in 1828. A ferry was built nearby, over the San Jacinto River, and the area of Humble became a center for commercial activity due to the region's large timber industry.

Humble became an oil boom town in the early 1900's when oil was first produced there. The first oil was produced a couple years after the famous Spindletop discovery in Beaumont, Texas. Railroad linkage was established in 1904 and shortly thereafter the first tank car of oil was shipped out of Humble's oil field. The Humble oil fields are still active and have produced over 138,835,590 barrels of oil. When the oil boom receded, many land owners returned to truck farming, dairy farming and the timber industry.

The town of Humble was incorporated in 1933. It remained a rather small quiet city until the opening of the Houston Intercontinental Airport (now George Bush Intercontinental Airport) in 1969.

Demographics

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As of the census of 2000, there were 14,579 people, 5,460 households, and 3,652 families residing in the city. The population density was 570.3/km² (1,477.5/mi²). There were 5,908 housing units at an average density of 231.1/km² (598.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.24% White, 14.49% African American, 0.68% Native American, 3.22% Asian, 0.26% Pacific Islander, 9.07% from other races, and 3.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.36% of the population.

There were 5,460 households out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.0% under the age of 18, 12.3% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,834, and the median income for a family was $46,399. Males had a median income of $34,434 versus $26,988 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,678. About 12.2% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Humble is served by the Humble Independent School District and is in district 22-5a.

The Humble ISD portion is served by Humble Middle School, Atascocita Middle School, Timberwood Middle School, Atascocita High School and Humble High School.

Humble is served by North Harris Montgomery Community College District.

The Harris County Public Library Octavia Fields Branch serves the community.

External links

* City of Humble
* City of Humble History
* History of Humble
* Handbook of Texas Online article

Category:Cities in Texas
Category:Harris County, Texas
Category:Handbook of Texas citations