Katy

Karankawa Indians hunted buffalo on this site as late as the 1820s. Present Fifth Street follows the course of the San Felipe Road, which was opened to Austin's colony in that decade. In 1836 Santa Anna used that road in his march toward San Jacinto. This site was in the 1839 land grant of Republic of Texas citizen James J. Crawford. In 1863 at their camp on San Felipe Road, 35 Confederate soldiers died and were buried in the locality. Cane Island, the original settlement, was known as a stagecoach stop. Developers platted Katy townsite after Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad ("The Katy Line") reached this point in 1895. The post office opened Jan. 23, 1896, in the postmaster's mercantile store. In 1897, William Eule grew a rice crop, initiating the locality's major industry. Eule's son Fred dug an irrigation well for the rice fields in 1899. The 1900 hurricane razed or damaged all improvements except two houses in Katy, but the town was soon rebuilt. Beginning in 1927, nearby petroleum developments enhanced the local economy. Incorporated n 1945, the town had 849 people in 1950 and 3800 by 1970. It is a tri-county municipality, lying in Fort Bend, Harris, and Waller counties.

Katy is a historical marker in Katy, Harris County, dedicated in 1978. It is one of 406 historical markers documented in Harris County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 781 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.7874, -95.8224 near Katy. The nearest cataloged historic site is Stewart, Dr. James M. and Dove, House (historic place), about 0.1 miles away. Others within a short drive include First United Methodist Church of Katy, First Baptist Church of Katy, and Barker Post Office.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5201010711. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.