For Kinwood, Texas, see Kinwood

Kingwood is a 14,000 acre (57 km²) master-planned community located in northeast Houston, Texas, United States.^[1] The majority of the community is located in Harris County with a small portion in Montgomery County. Known as the "Livable Forest," it is the largest master-planned community in Harris County and second-largest within the 10-county Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area.

Kingwood, founded in 1969, is being developed on Lake Houston by the Friendswood Development Company, headed by John Bruton Jr. The name is derived from the King Ranch,owned and operated by Kelly King, who, at one point owned the land, as well as from the Friendswood Development Company.^[2]

Contents 1 History 2 Neighborhoods 3 Education 3.1 Primary and secondary schools 3.1.1 Public schools 3.1.2 Private schools 3.2 Colleges and universities 3.3 Public libraries 4 Government and infrastructure 4.1 Local government 4.2 Police 4.3 Fire 4.4 County, state, and federal representation 5 Parks and recreation 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] History

In 1976 Kingwood had a few thousand residents.^[3] Between 1980 and 1990 the community's population increased by an amount between 40 percent and 70 percent.^[4] In 1990 the community had 19,443 residents and 204 businesses. The population increased to 37,397 in 1992.^[3]

Houston annexed Kingwood in 1996. During that year, Thomas Phillips, a retired longshoreman and Bordersville resident, joined with representatives of Kingwood and sued the City of Houston in a federal court, arguing that the city could not legally annex areas if it did not provide certain services to some of its existing areas, including Bordersville.^[5] Imad F. Abdullah, the President of Landmark Architects Inc., criticized the residents who fought annexation in his 1996 editorial in the Houston Business Journal.^[6]

[edit] Neighborhoods

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Kingwood is divided into 25 neighborhoods, called "villages." Most villages have a neighborhood pool providing free access for village residents, and most provide their own set of village-specific services.

Trailwood is Kingwood's oldest subdivision, with its first homes being completed in 1971; while new homes are still being built in Barrington, Kingwood Greens, Kings River, Kings Point, and Royal Shores.

Several other subdivisions and developments have developed around the Kingwood area. Some of these subdivisions are Forest Cove, which was first built in 1963, Deer Ridge Estates, North Kingwood Forest, Kings Lake Estates, Lakewood Cove and Woodspring Forest. Nearby developments include Oakhurst at Kingwood and King's Manor. Oakhurst does not pay Kingwood Service Association fees, though it is considered part of Kingwood and is also developed by Friendswood Development.

[edit] Education

[edit] Primary and secondary schools

[edit] Public schools

Kingwood pupils residing in Harris County attend the Humble Independent School District. Kingwood High School and Kingwood Park High School serve the area. All students enrolled in Humble Independent School District also have the option to attend Quest High School, a magnet high school in Atascocita.

Students residing in Montgomery County attend the New Caney Independent School District.^[7] A small portion of North Woodland Hills, as well as the Kings Manor and Oakhurst developments, are located in Montgomery County.

Kingwood is served by three Humble ISD middle schools: Kingwood Middle School, Creekwood Middle School and Riverwood Middle School. Kingwood Middle School students are zoned to Kingwood Park High School, while students attending Creekwood and Riverwood are zoned to Kingwood High School.

In addition to the high schools and middle schools, Kingwood is served by nine Humble ISD elementary schools.

[edit] Private schools

Private schools in Kingwood include Northeast Christian Academy, St. Martha Catholic School (PreK-8),^[8] Pines Montessori School (18 months-12 years),^[9] and Christian School of Kingwood (Preschool and Elementary School).^[10]

[edit] Colleges and universities

Lone Star College-Kingwood is two-year community college that serves the area and it is part of the Lone Star College System.

[edit] Public libraries

Dedicated on August 12, 1983, the 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m²) Kingwood Branch of the Harris County Public Library, has over 112,000 books.^[11] In partnership with the Houston Public Library, the branch is slated to become a "City-County" branch in exchange for 4.2 million dollars to fund the building of a new 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m²) facility. At the time of its completion, the existing branch will be converted into a community center.^[12] In addition to the Kingwood Library, and within Kingwood, there is also the Kingwood Community College library, which permits access for "currently enrolled students, high school students and adults living within the district, patrons of Montgomery County Memorial Library System, and college employees."^[13]

[edit] Government and infrastructure

[edit] Local government

Police, fire and ambulance services are provided by the City of Houston.

City Council District E serves Kingwood. As of 2008 Mike Sullivan represents the district.^[14][15]

The Houston public works department is responsible for the maintenance and construction of roads in Kingwood,

METRO operates a single Park and Ride location in Kingwood to provide commuters with an alternative to driving themselves downtown.

The Kingwood Chamber of Commerce serves local businesses and the community with regular activities such as Kleenwood.^[16]

Originally an unincorporated area, the section of Kingwood in Harris County was annexed by the City of Houston in 1996 despite vehement protest by the community. The contested annexation was appealed to the Texas Supreme Court and led to the passage of Texas Senate Bill 89 in 1999, which curbed city annexation rights. When Kingwood became a part of Houston, residents could no longer legally discharge fireworks in Kingwood due to a City of Houston ban.^[17]

• Kingwood is represented on the Houston City Council by Michael Sullivan.^[18]

[edit] Police

The Houston Police Department's Kingwood Patrol Division^[19], headquartered at 3915 Rustic Woods Drive^[20], provides law enforcement services to Kingwood.

Minors under the age of 15 are subject to a Houston mandated curfew after 10:00PM Sunday through Thursday, or 11:00PM on Friday and Saturday (baring few minor exceptions.)^[21] This curfew extends to fill the time between 9AM until 2:30PM on days when school is in session.^[21] John Cannon, a spokesman for the HPD says, "the curfew is to ensure that kids are in school getting an education."^[22]

[edit] Fire

Kingwood's fire stations are within Houston Fire District 102, operated by the Houston Fire Department.^[23] There are four stations located within Kingwood: Station 101, Station 102, Station 103 and Station 104. A fifth station, Station 105, is outside of Kingwood and in the same fire district.^[23][24]

[edit] County, state, and federal representation

Kingwood residents vote mostly Republican, and representatives of Kingwood on local and state levels tend to be Republican.^{[citation needed]} The Harris County portion of Kingwood lies in Harris County Precinct 4 (PCT4). As of 2008 PCT4's commissioner is Jerry Eversole and the constable is Ron Hickman.^[25]

The Harris County section of Kingwood is located in District 127 of the Texas House of Representatives. As of 2008, Joe Crabb represents the district.^[26] The Montgomery County section of Kingwood is located in District 16 of the Texas House of Representatives. As of 2008, Brandon Creighton represents the district.^[27] Kingwood is within District 4 of the Texas Senate; as of 2008 Tommy Williams represents that district.^[28]"Senator Tommy Williams: District 4". The Senate of Texas. http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist4/dist4.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-30. 

Kingwood is in Texas's 2nd congressional district. As of 2008, Ted Poe represents the district.^[29] Poe who won by 55% in 2004.^[30] The United States Postal Service Kingwood Post Office is located at 4025 Feather Lakes Way.^[31]

[edit] Parks and recreation

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The City of Houston responsible for the greenbelt trails that run throughout Kingwood. The greenbelt trails' maintenance is the responsibility of the trail association in each village with exception to Trailwood Village. Over 75 miles (121 km) of greenbelts comb the area.^{[citation needed]}

• The newest^[when?] addition to Kingwood's park facilities is a 2.25 acre public dog park.^[32] More information on this new dog park can be found at Kingwood Kennels.
• Kingwood Park, operated by the City of Houston. ^[33]
• East End Park, owned and operated by the Kingwood Service Association. ^[34]
• Opened in May 21, 2004, Kingwood Skate Park is a 5,402-square-foot (501.9 m²) facility that has "mini half pipe with 90' hip, skate benches, a kinked round grind rail, a kicker ramp, skate tables, a bank to stair with rail, shade structures with benches, drinking fountain and a bike rack in the shape of a skateboarder."^[33][35]

Kingwood residents enjoy a number of community events throughout the year, including:

• Mardi Gras
  • When: February
  • Where: Town Center Park.
  • Parade and vendor fair with open air concert.
• Picnic on the Park
  • When: Day before Easter
  • Where: Town Center Park
  • Easter Egg hunt open to children of all ages. The event also offers game booths, a vendor fair, and performances by local area groups.
• Auto Shows
  • When: Spring and Fall, often April and October respectively.
  • Where: Town Center Park.
  • Typically draws up to 200 vehicles in a wide variety of categories. The Spring Car Show is held in April and the Fall show is typically held in October.
• Fourth of July
  • When: July 04
  • Where: Parade, between Creekwood Middle School, and Kingwood High School; festivities, Town Center Park.
  • Consisting of a parade; and, firework display, with open air concert, and vendor fair.
• Christmas in the Park
  • When: December
  • Where: Town Center Park
  • Vendor fair, and live performances from local groups. Day ends with a tree lighting ceremony in the park.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Kingwood Civic Club
• Kingwood, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online

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