A Glorious Day at Bayou Bend

A Dose of Houston History

In 1836 the Allen brothers, Augustus and John established a small settlement along a muddy and mosquito-infested area of the Buffalo Bayou. They named the new town after Sam Houston, who had won independence for Texas at the Battle of San Jacinto earlier that year. Houston prospered, and in 1914 the winding bayou was converted into a shipping channel, fueling the city's growth as a center for timber, cotton, and cattle shipping. In the early twentieth century, an oil boom assured Houston's future as a world energy center.

By the 1920s Houston, many of Houston's leading citizens joined forces to control growth and to formulate ideas for planning and beautification. Although many of their proposals were never realized, the city benefited immeasurably from these efforts. Will Hogg gave his own land to the city to create Memorial Park and other public green spaces.

Will Hogg's commitment to urban planning was matched by his entrepreneurial spirit. In 1924, Will and Mike Hogg and their partner Hugh Potter began planning a lush subdivision, away from the noise, dirt, and congestion of the city. They built River Oaks, the new suburb, on 1100 acres of open farmland and rustic woodlands three miles west of downtown Houston. Advertised as a "distinguished experiment in fine living," it became a national model for community planning. Hugh Potter chose one of his favorite parcels along the crest of Buffalo Bayou in River Oaks and built a dream home for his family. Ironically, this is where "Casa Chaos" sits today and where our frenzied days take place. Nestled in the heart of River Oaks, Houston's most elegant residential area, an eighty-acre lot was a separate subdivision called Homewoods. This enclave contained just fourteen lots, the largest of which was reserved by the Hoggs and would become Bayou Bend.

Architecture

The house, designed by prominent architect John F. Staub, was built between 1927 and 1928. Miss Hogg and her brothers wanted the design of their new home to reflect the history, culture, and climate of the Texas Gulf Coast. Staub's plan for Bayou Bend combined the refined symmetry of eighteenth-century English Georgian architecture with the romantic influence of Spanish Creole architecture from New Orleans. In fact, the antique wrought iron balcony on the southern facade of the house was salvaged from a demolished New Orleans building. Bayou Bend's central hallway, curving stairway, columned northern portico, and double frontage--are borrowed from Southern plantation houses. Miss Hogg coined the term "Latin Colonial" to describe the eclectic new style.

Gardens

The gardens presented a special challenge. Covered in towering trees and thick undergrowth, the site was, in Miss Hogg's words, "nothing but a dense thicket." Undaunted, she created a series of gracious and beautiful gardens that were intended as outdoor rooms for living and entertaining, not just views to be admired from within the house. But Miss Hogg was also appreciative of the wilder side of nature, and she always intended that the surrounding woodlands, remain more or less natural, as they are today.