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Tomball Tx - What's in a name!

Shortly after moving to the Tomball area I had heard that the town was named after a gentleman named Thomas Ball. At the time I remember thinking he was probably a resident of the town. As Tomball celebrated their Centennial year 2007 I learned a more complete history about Thomas Ball and how Tomball got its name. Thomas Ball was never a resident of the Tomball area; he was a prominent attorney and congressman from Houston who helped to bring the railroad to Tomball. The area that we now know as Tomball became the freight center for the new Trinity and Brazos Valley Railroad with the help of Thomas Ball. Tomball Texas has a rich railroad history The town's growth really took off when a maintenance facility used to repair steam engines was located in Tomball. Initially it was going to go about two to three miles south of Tomball but the Tomball location was decided upon because that was the beginning of the flat land. As you go north to Zion the land starts to become hilly.

The railroad facility helped to spur the economic prosperity of the area. The railroad brought a strong economy and many jobs to the area. There was a train depot, five-stall roundhouse, telegraph office and water Old Town Tomball TX station. Along with the railroad businesses, including a general store, hotels and of course saloons thrived. The freight station being strategically placed in the middle of a cattle and agricultural area was a major boost to the railroad.

Prior to the name of Tomball the area was called Peck. On December 2, 1907 the Peck Train Stationname was dropped and the town of Tom Ball was constituted and dedicated to the public. This was done to honor Thomas Ball who was so dedicated in his efforts to bring the freight station to the area. On a side note even though it is Tomball that honors his name Thomas Ball is best known for his contribution to the construction of the Houston Ship Channel in 1914.

The town's busy railroad era ended before World War I when the Tomball freight reloading point was discontinued. The railroad era in Tomball may have ended but to this day Tomball remains an incorporated town. Somewhere along the line the town became Tomball rather than Tom Ball. The City of Tomball has a local government, city ordinances, a public works department, a Tomball TX historic train depot city council, and a community center. It is actually the only incorporated city in Northwest Harris County. I can also tell you that those trains may no longer stop in Tomball but they are still busy productive tracks. I can attest to that in all the times that I sit waiting for the trains to pass.

Amazingly the old Depot survived and again resides beside the track; not in the exact location as before but just two blocks from its original location. The Depot was without a home for quite a number of years but through the generosity of Burlington Northern Railroad, Commissioner Jerry Eversole Harris County Precinct #4,A-1 House Moving Company and a handful of generous donors, it was saved and moved to Burroughs Park on February 2, 1993. Almost 10 years later in 2002, it was returned to the City. On January 27, Tomball Train Depot ticket office 2007 the Tomball Depot was re-opened and dedicated by the Tomball City Council in honor of Tomball's Centennial Celebration. Many groups were involved in the revitalization from the local citizens who fought to save it in the early 1990's to the contractors who most recently finished the revitalization.

The Depot has been refurbished both inside and out. The interior restoration includes a ticket office and waiting room along with the largest room in the building that was used for baggage handling, shipping and receiving. The exterior color is painted a yellow gold color which closely resembles the original color of the depot. This was done by scraping a sampling of the original paint. An exterior deck surrounds the Depot and a restored caboose from the Depot's era resides beside the Depot. The City has purchased land next to the Depot so it will be interesting to see what they have in mind for the area's future.

As the railroad era came to an end Tomball might have faded in to obscurity had it not been for the discovery of a large reservoir of oil floating under its soil. That's for another post though, so stay tuned.

For all your Tomball TX Real Estate needs, contact me today!
Marchel Peterson
Results Realty
Cell: 832-721-8332

Posted by Marchel Peterson Spring TX Real Estate E-Pro ABR on 04/05/2008 07:56 PM

Comments (21)

tomball tx, historic downtown

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21 Comments on Tomball Tx - What's in a name!

Marchel, this is a great history of the town. I love railroads and so nice to see a depot restored. Several local depots have been renovated; one is a library and another the visitor center for the town. Nice post!

04/06/2008 12:07 AM

by Debbie Malone, RE/MAX, Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake, Real Estate Agent (RE/MAX 1st Olympic, ABR, e-PRO, ASP)

Hey Partner,great post, you pictures placements are even better, I kinda like the larger area around them, the whole layout is perfect, and a great story too :). Funny I just told pictures in Katy for a post that is going to be so much like this on. Looking forward to your contest post. Liz

04/06/2008 01:22 AM

by Liz Carter,Broker/Owner of Liz Carter & Team Realty, Katy TX (Houston) (Liz Carter & Team Realty-Top Realtor in Katy & Houston Texas)

Marchel, this is awesome, I love history and it is nice to see something we can touch and learn more of our past too. Great info!!!! Thanks for sharing this..

04/06/2008 08:02 AM

by Bob Sloop, Consultant, Indianapolis, IN (RS Mortgage Consulting)

DEBBIE, It is amazing that this depost was preserved to be restored. I remember when we first moved here seeing it sitting at Borroughs Park. At the time not having any idea what it was. I really didn't connect the two until the Centennial happened and I read more about the Depot. The reason it was preserved was because citizens fought for it to be preserved.

LIZ, I like that larger area around them also; I will have to thank Bob Stewart for that idea. I don't know Katy's history at all so will be looking for your post.

BOB, so good to see you. I have loved learning more about the history of our area. Our history doesn't go back far but is interesting to learn. Is your son back from Iraq? Ours just left again.

04/06/2008 09:31 AM

by Marchel Peterson Spring TX Real Estate E-Pro ABR (Results Realty)

Howdy Marchel

What a very fine History post on the Town of Tomball.

I really enjoyed reading about this part of your town.

Looking forward to reading more about Tomball.

Have a good one Dale

04/06/2008 12:21 PM

by Dale Baker, Home Inspectior- in NH & VT (Baker Home Inspections and Consulting Service)

Marchel, I get it! Thomas Ball...Tomball. Amazing how they came up with this stuff isn't it? The Depot looks and sounds just beautiful. Thanks for the info and I can't wait to see you at the end of the week. Drive carefully my dear. Later in the rain~Deb

04/06/2008 09:33 PM

by Deb at Brooks Prime Properties

Marchel, I have always wondered where they got that name Tomball. I was in Tomball only one time but I have met lots of people from that area over the years and the name has always fascinated me. Great job on this post!!!!

04/06/2008 10:35 PM

by Ricki Eichler, your Texas Hill Country connection (Hill Country Estate Properties)

Marchel, this was a really fun read! I've been to Houston a bunch of times, and when I saw Tomball on the local map, I wondered where the name came from! You learn something new on Active Rain every day!

04/07/2008 10:36 AM

by Patricia Kennedy (Evers & Company)

Good history lesson here. It's always interesting to learn the history of a place.

04/07/2008 12:06 PM

by Melina Tomson, M.S. Salem Oregon Real Estate Specialist (Tomson Burnham, llc)

Just love reading about these old railroad towns and how history converged upon a spot to create the American West.

04/07/2008 04:11 PM

by Andrew J. Lenza (ABR*GRI*MBA) Monmouth County NJ Real Estate Broker (Andrew J. Lenza Realty)

DALE,Next up will be oil coming to Tomball. That's the rest of the story as Paul Harvey would say. Well not the rest Tomball is a continual work in progress. You wouldn't believe the growth that is happening.

DEBRA, It is a unique name for a wonderful town. They call it the town with a heart and it really is. I LOVE TOMBALL!!! You guys drive carefully also. You have even farther to go than us. We are really looking forward to getting away.

RICKI, Tomball does have a unique name. I optimize my website for 6 different areas but Tomball is the one are where I don't have to put Texas in. All the other areas have lots of competition. Well Spring has competition just because it is a season (lol). Just a few days until we meet.

04/07/2008 07:17 PM

by Marchel Peterson Spring TX Real Estate E-Pro ABR (Results Realty)

PATRICIA, Active Rain is a wealth of information isn't. My husband and I were talking about that at dinner. I learned about the photomatrix program through Active Rain and that has been a huge shot in the arm for the pictures we take.

MELINA, It is fun to learn the history. We think the west is the best but then we are originally from the west. We are originally from Kansas but have relatives in Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas.

ANDREW, Learning the history helps me as I sit and wait and wait for those trains to go by. I have three diffferent railroad tracks that have the potential to slow my day down. I have learned if I am goint in particular directions to allow extra time for trains. Unlike you guys we NEVER see passenger trains but WOW do we have long freight trains.

04/07/2008 07:23 PM

by Marchel Peterson Spring TX Real Estate E-Pro ABR (Results Realty)

Marchel - Every blog keeps getting better and better. You are a "pro" at writing and placing those pictures. As for Tomball, I have only seen it on the map. I only hope I can remember everything you presented in such a way to make it easy reading. We truly have alot of history in our Great State of Texas.

I just envision everyone now digging through history articles to come up with interesting Texas information to blog about. Look at it this way, if you dont know where you came from, or where you have been, how would you know where your going. Somewhere, sometime in the future this information will fall into place when you are showing a house in Tomball.

04/07/2008 07:31 PM

by Carl & Ceil Winters (Complete Inspection Service, New Braunfels, Texas 78133)

Your pictures are great and I enjoyed reading about your area ! Thanks for sharing a piece of history with all of us !

04/08/2008 05:59 AM

by Crossville TN Real Estate, Melissa Grant Cumberland County TN Homes For Sale (Third Tennessee Realty and Associates)

MELISSA, In age of towns Tomball is fairly young but it is interesting to see how they got their name. In the next installment I plan to tell how they actually stayed a town and did not go by the wayside as so many towns around here did, it all boils down to one word OIL.

04/08/2008 10:43 AM

by Marchel Peterson Spring TX Real Estate E-Pro ABR (Results Realty)

Hi Marchel: Here is a link for you to click on... I did not know a quicker way to get this to you... and I could not get the AR email to accept this link. Click on it, and then go show them how great you are. Blog Post for Marchel from Karen Anne.

04/09/2008 08:36 PM

by Fort Worth Real Estate - - - Karen Anne Stone (RE/MAX Trinity)

Marchel--What an interesting history lesson! Fun post and love the photos!

04/11/2008 04:06 PM

by Teri Eckholm, Realtor® Anoka County MN (Keller Williams Premier Realty)

CARL, The next installment will be how OIL changed Tomball. The Tomball museum is only open Sunday and Thursdays and I want to get a picture of an Oil house so as soon as my time works out where I can get in there I will continue on with the history lesson. It is fun learning about the area that you live in.

KAREN ANN, Thanks for the link. I have been talking to Frank but I think that doll house is in a different area than Houston. We are a huge area. I really appreciate you thinking about me though.

TERI, Those photos were some of my first pictures with our new camera. I was pleased with how they turned out also. What a difference having the right equipment makes.

04/11/2008 04:46 PM

by Marchel Peterson Spring TX Real Estate E-Pro ABR (Results Realty)

I lived in Spring, TX and I used to ride my bicycle through Tom Ball every week and never know where the name came from. Thomas Ball, thats great! We moved to Pensacola, FL in 2001 where I became a real estate agent. What a wild ride its been!

http://www.gibbons-realty.com

05/16/2008 06:20 AM

by Pensacola Realtor

I enjoyed getting to know more about where Tomball's unique name came from. I had heard it was Thomas Ball but I had just assumed he was a resident.

By the way I'm impressed with your website. Wow a PR 5 from Google that is rarely seen on a real estate web site. My site is only a PR3 and that is just on some pages others have a PR2 but I do well in the search engines.

05/16/2008 10:43 PM

by Marchel Peterson Spring TX Real Estate E-Pro ABR (Results Realty)

Hi Partner, as always another fine, quality post. You are a great blogger and I'm proud to call you my friend. L

05/19/2008 01:03 AM

by Liz Carter,Broker/Owner of Liz Carter & Team Realty, Katy TX (Houston) (Liz Carter & Team Realty-Top Realtor in Katy & Houston Texas)