The Community We Serve
This section is to provide information about the area we serve, to our new friends and neighbors who might like to learn more about their new hometown. Montgomery County, Conroe, Willis, The Woodlands, Montgomery, and other communities of this area see many new residents and businesses arrive every year. This article is for you!

A Brief History of the Conroe, Texas Area
As is usually the case, native tribes inhabited what became Montgomery County, as early as 10,000 years ago, many scholars say. The Atakapan Indians were comprised of various related tribes that were mostly hunter-gatherers. These Tribes geographically spread from the areas of the Old San Antonio Road of the Spanish Crown territories in the North, to the Gulf Coast. Life was hard for these people. Hardships such as disease, war with other Indian Tribes, intermarriage, and migration elsewhere trimmed their numbers such that none were left in the area by 1850.
Arrivals from France and Spain followed the explorers that sojourned through the area in the 16th and 17th centuries. Spain’s claim was strongest. In 1825, Stephen F. Austin signed an agreement with the Mexican Governor to bring 500 families to what became known as Austin’s Second Colony. Members of that group of pioneers and homesteaders received land grants from Mexico. They settled near Lake Creek in what is now western Montgomery County, by 1831creating the Lake Creek Settlement.
These settlers sided with the new Republic of Texas in the Texas Revolution of 1835-1836. For a time they located in Washington County. When people returned after the war to Mongomery County in 1837 and to the Lake Creek Settlement, the store founded by a Mr. W.W. Shepperd and his business associate John Wyatt Moody became a central place of the growing settlement. A stagecoach line ran from Huntsville to Houston and stopped at Shepperd’s Store. Likely name after Montgomery County, Alabama, the Montgomery townsite was founded in 1837. President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston, on December 14, 1837 signed an act by the Congress of the Republic of Texas to form Montgomery County.
Many historians say that Montgomery County is the “Birthplace of the Lone Star Flag”. Credit goes to Mr. Charles B. Stewart of Montgomery town as the designer in 1839.
Settlers arrived growing the population rapidly so that by 1860, 5,479 people lived in the county. Methodist minster I.L.G. Strickland started preaching in the area in the 1840s. In the 1850s Baptists organized the first church in Montgomery town. During the Civil War, hundreds of the men in the area volunteered for Southern military units. They saw much action, so that nearly three-fourths of those were killed or wounded. Rebuilding after the war and its terrible effects was difficult. Attempts to grow more acres of only cotton badly depleted the soil, so incomes were falling.
Finally in the 1870s recovery began when railroads arrived. New towns sprang up, so a competition for the new County Seat began. In 1889, the fledgling town of Conroe won the honor since it was at the junction of the International-Great Northern and the new Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway. The local economy grew, by 1900 the county population exceeded 17,000.
The lumber industry benefitted greatly from railway freight to carry sawmill production from the forests to markets all over Texas and neighboring states. Forty-five steam-powered sawmills provided many jobs and more value-added economic growth. Related industries of box and railroad cross-tie factories sprang up. Open fields made by clear-cutting after the lumber activity led to a steady increase of farming and livestock herds. New crops such as a Cuban variety of tobacco were tried which had only short-term success, but showed local farmers the concepts of diversifying their plantings. By 1920 the number of farms increased to 1,932. Post-1910 saw a further diversification of crops to fruits and vegetables for the growing cities of Texas.
The Great Depression effects by 1930 had taken hold. Joblessness increased, the county population decreased. Farming was hardest hit with falling prices, soil depletion, and boll weevil outbreaks.
Drillers discovered oil about six miles southeast of Conroe in December of 1931. A bigger second well drilled in June of 1932 caused an oil boom that quadrupled the town’s population. Other oil discoveries around the county brought much needed jobs and income. This multiplied to a general prosperity that countered the worst hardships of the depression. The county graded and paved roads, built new schools, new public buildings and monuments. New businesses, offices and homes were built, many people moved in to find work during the boom, growing the population to 23,055 in 1940.
The oil discoveries came in handy during World War II, as local oil refineries supplied the US military and a carbon black plant shipped that feedstock to tire factories, all of which helped the Allied war effort.
Farming and lumbering in the area stabilized after World War II. Ranching, livestock, and equine activities increased. Nursery products and greenhouse businesses appeared. New highways made it possible for Montgomery County residents to commute to jobs in nearby Houston.
The 2020 census found 620,443 people residing in Montgomery County, the largest two cities being Conroe at 89,956; and The Woodlands at 114,436.

Things Many People Like about Conroe and the Area
Conroe and Montgomery County are a fairly short drive to Houston and the activities of a major metropolitan area. Both Interstate 45 and the Hardy Toll Road provide direct routes to central Houston. Conroe area residents can live in the small-town vibe and easily travel to major league sports, dining, cultural and entertainment venues of Houston and the Galveston bay and island areas.
Public schools in Conroe are highly rated, another thing like about Conroe. Its 42 elementary schools, 7 middle schools, 5 high schools, and 10,000 employees, many of these schools are among the best in the state. Not only do the schools encourage good study habits, they employ a specially trained police force to promote good safety for students and faculty.
Conroe’s cost of living is about 5% to 7% below the national average, including a median home price in the area of about $322,000.

The WG Jones State Forest, the Sam Houston National Forest, and places for other outdoor activities are abundant in this part of Texas. A great example is Lake Conroe. The 32 mile long lake, built in 1950, covers 22 square miles. It is primarily a water source and has become a tourism attraction for nearby towns, with places to picnic, rent a boat, or dine on the lake. Several resorts cater to guests on the shores of Lake Conroe.
Mentioned above, the Sam Houston National Forest includes several opportunities for outdoor recreation. This includes Huntsville State Park in the midst of over 2,000 acres of the piney woods.
The Montgomery County area offers many aspect of a great quality of life!