Houston History Department Department

The early 1800s are the beginning of Houston, Texas’s long and lively history. Approximately 6,600 acres on the banks of Buffalo Bayou were bought by brothers John Kirby Allen and Augustus Chapman Allen for a new town in 1836, just a few months after Texas won its independence from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto. For less than $10,000, the two would help establish Houston, which over time would grow from a struggling trading post to become the fourth-largest city in the country and the center of the industry.