For years, Addicks has endured as a refuge for the hard working Houstonians who love those wide open spaces. It has lasted and stayed relatively small for Houstonians who want both the perks of an urban environment and the know-your-neighbor neighborhoods of a small town.
According to the Texas State Historical Association, this neighborhood has been called by several names throughout the years, with the most notable besides Addicks, being Bear Creek (which is the name of a nearby area). Addicks has also worn several hats when it comes to its settlement. First, German immigrants settled the area at around 1850, as they did with several nearby towns, but it was a new railroad that Addicks really got booming. By 1891, a larger track was built and the area became a hub for farmers.
The area was named Addicks in 1884 after the first postmaster, much like Alief. However, almost the entire area was destroyed by the Galveston hurricane of 1900—a storm of such magnitude that many areas were wiped out and communities began to form flood relief initiatives. Addicks was one such community, and while the population was slow to bounce back (only 40 people by 1925), the Addicks Dam Reservoir became necessary to control flooding. Nearly 200 people had to relocate when the area was purposely flooded for the reservoir.
Possibly due to some xenophobia, the German ancestry of the area was stifled during WWI when church services at the local Methodist church stopped being offered in the German language—the native language of many people who originally settled and endured in the area. However, Addicks did get back to its roots and the Bear Creek Graveyard actually has plots of original settlers, a point of local historical significance.
City Data tells us that the population of the area is diverse, with a median household income of almost double Houston’s average (as of 2011). Rent is also substantially higher here, despite the population being more sparse, though possibly owing to the population being slightly older than Houston’s average. Households in Addicks have double the number of cars than that of the average Houstonian household, and more married couples have children here while both spouses work. That may be how nearly 60% of children in Addicks in grade school can afford to be enrolled in private education, compared with just 7% of Houston’s children overall attending private institutions.
However, though the area has many factors that indicate its affluence, other factors seem to indicate there’s quite a bit of diversity in socioeconomic status—for example, Addicks has a population below poverty level that is more than 10% Houston’s average. Educational attainment has quite a few people with less than a high school diploma who live in the area, though a steady population of some college experience and bachelor’s degrees. The area is rife with variety as there’s a little something for everyone.
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