Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and

realize they were the big things"

-Robert Brault

Earlier in my real estate career I based my business out of Conroe. I have moved the core of my business to The Woodlands for one reason – when people move to Conroe they seem to feel at home and often never move again…that’s not good for my business. Outsiders often wonder why people become satisfied with life in Conroe after living in communities south of here. It is hard to describe, but let me try.

Conroe is a true city, with all the mosaic of a city both good and bad. It is the county seat for Montgomery County and has been a sleepy little town that was not all that interested in growing until the last decade. People laugh and call the community “Corn-row” because of the large population of rural people who call this town home. But yet, I find this city to be more like the inner-city of a larger metropolis than like the “bedroom communities” to the south. It has a daily newspaper, active city government, county offices, ample employment choices and a vibrant economy.

If you have a preference for older homes, you won’t find many north of Houston except in the city of Conroe. When the rest of the county was totally rural, sleepy little Conroe was growing. You’ll find homes of every age – from turn-of-the-century Victorian styled mansions to mid-century custom built bungalows. With the recent growth you will also find many new developments which range in price from the low $100s to multi-millions…from small production built subdivisions to the rolling hills in the northwest part of the city. Lake Conroe is about 7 miles west and I will describe it in another section of this site.

History:

In 1881, Isaac Conroe was a lumberman from Houston and he established a sawmill near the railroad tracks. Soon a post office was established in his mill commissary. By the mid nineteenth century, a lumber boom had attracted settlers and the population climbed to 300 by 1889. They became a shipping center for lumber, cotton, livestock and bricks. The Conroe Independent School District was established in 1892, combining twelve nearby school districts. In 1896, the Courier was founded. It remains one of the few daily newspapers still in operation.

Although the city survived a devastating fire in 1901, Conroe became incorporated in 1904 with a population of 1,009. Then the Great Depression almost devastated this small town. The lumber supply had been mismanaged. In November 1930, the only bank abruptly failed and forced many mills to close. But things immediately turned around when in December of 1931 George Strake discovered oil seven miles southeast of town. By 1933 the population had blossomed to more than 5,000 and lent Conroe a boomtown atmosphere. It briefly claimed more millionaires per capita than any other town in the United States. During that time the Crighton Theater was built and in 1950 Elvis Presley performed there.

Since those oil boom days, Conroe has steadily grown in size. The Montgomery County Airport was built as a military facility in 1945, but has since then served as a local airfield. By 1972, when Houston began a big oil boom of their own, Conroe’s population had climbed to 12,000…and reached 27,500 by 1990. Today’s population is about 45,000.

Framed links (see The Woodlands for directions)

Site address                                                       name

www.Cityofconroe.org                                                 Official city site

www.conroe.org                                             Chamber of Commerce

www.crightontheatre.org                            Historic theater in downtown

http://mcpas.org/                                           Performing Arts Society