Buffalo Bayou
Origins of Houston
Welcome to the beginning of the story. Houston was born on the water. In 1836, two brothers from New York, Augustus and John Kirby Allen, bought a stretch of muddy land where two bayous met, and named their new town after Sam Houston, the hero of Texas independence. They promised that steamboats would sail right to its doorstep, a bold claim for a settlement on a narrow, twisting bayou. But they were right. Buffalo Bayou became Houston's first highway, carrying cotton, timber, and people down to the sea. Everything this city would become, a great port, an energy capital, a gateway to the world, began with that decision to build where the water could reach. As you start this tour, remember: Houston has always been a maritime city, even when you can't see the coast.
