In 1824, surveyor John D. Taylor, whose maps provided the basis for conveying the area’s property to the “Father of Texas,” Stephen F. Austin, received his own land grant from Austin for a league centered on a “pine point” rich in water and timber resources at the southernmost turn of Buffalo Bayou. There after, Taylor’s home became known as Piney Point. However, it wasn’t until 1836 when Texas won its independence from Mexico that Houston was founded. And it was not until the 1880s that Piney Point Village became a station on the Texas Western Railroad and finally evolved into a settlement made up largely of German farmers.
It took another half century before land acquisition for what was to become Memorial Drive would induce Houstonians to journey west and build weekend homes in the area. But by the 1950s, Houston was booming and Memorial Drive was becoming a major thoroughfare. This made annexation such a strong possibility that in 1954 the residents of Piney Point joined forces and incorporated the village to retain their independence. Piney Point elected to form its mayor/alderman type of municipal government in 1955 and by 1966 had established a public school and four churches.
Its population has doubled since that era to 3,380 within 1,225 households according to the 2000 census. Most of Piney Point Village is served by the highly regarded Spring Branch Independent School District. In addition to their own elected city officials, residents enjoy the security of zoning ordinances and their own tax rate and city services. Police services are provided by the Memorial Villages Police Department while fire and ambulance services are provided by the Village Fire Department. Now recognized as one of most affluent of the Memorial Villages, Piney Point encompasses approximately 2.5 square miles of forested land and is exclusively residential, restricting businesses of any kind. The village permits only single-family residences on lot sizes of 40,000 square feet minimum (known as a “village acre”), although there are smaller lots
that are grandfathered.
These controls and careful planning have made Piney Point one of the more desirable areas among Houston’s power brokers, and land values have climbed. It’s no wonder that Piney Point Village with its distinctive country-estate atmosphere ranks among the most desirable residential neighborhoods in Texas.
