Humble 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. Pleasant Smith Humble, known as “Plez,” arrived to the area just before the Civil War. Pleasant Humble acquired land along the San Jacinto River and he soon began operating a ferry near the area where Highway 59 crosses the river today. Mr. Humble also served as justice of the peace for the area. In 1886, Pleasant Humble opened a post office in his home and the Humble name was adopted.

The Humble area soon became a center for commercial activity because of the vast timber in the region. C. O. Bender built a large sawmill and Humble became a crossroads for transporting lumber. Bender purchased the town site and established a commissary where workers traded tokens for merchandise. The early town had two hotels, two general stores, a church and a school.

Shallow oil production began in 1902 with a big oil gusher occurring in 1904. Humble became a tent city, overflowing with people as well as oil. Oil discoveries continued to mount. By 1905, the Humble oil field was the largest producing field in Texas. The Humble Oil and Refining Company (now Exxon Co. USA) was formed by local entrepreneurs.

As oil production began to decline, many land owners returned to truck farming, dairy farming and lumbering. In 1933, the town of Humble was incorporated. It remained a rather small quiet city until the opening of the Houston Intercontinental Airport in 1969. In addition, many residential areas began to develop outside the City limits such as Atascocita, Kingwood, and Forest Cove. To meet growing consumer needs, Humble became home to some of the finest business and retail facilities in the area and is now considered the commercial, economic and social hub for Northeast Harris County. The City of Humble is home to a state-of-the-art hospital, quality schools, a spacious mall, a civic center and covered civic arena. City services are provided by well-trained and dedicated employees who supply and maintain the infrastructure for the community.

Humble is located in the Northeast quadrant of Harris County and covers approximately 10 square miles. The City has a very diverse population of 14,000 to 15,000 inhabitants. However, with the large number of commercial businesses located in the City, the daytime population of Humble dramatically increases.