Bordersville

Bordersville, a Black community on Farm Road 1960 in northeast Houston, less than a half mile northeast of Houston Intercontinental Airport, began in 1927 when the sawmill at Humble closed and Blacks who had worked there were forced to leave. Edgar Borders opened a mill nearby, hired some of the unemployed, and provided wooden shacks as housing. In 1940 the community had one store and a population of 100 but remained at least five miles from the nearest schools, in the Aldine Independent School District; thirty-five miles from the nearest public health care at Ben Taub Hospital in Houston; and an equal distance from grocery stores and libraries. In 1941 Borders closed the mill and rented or sold the land that became Bordersville to the people living there. When Borders died in 1963, most residents did not own the land they lived on, but no one asked them to leave. In the 1960s local men organized a civic club that became the Bordersville Neighborhood Council, joined the Houston Junior Chamber of Commerce, dug a deep water well, and painted local houses.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.