Ah, The Woodlands, one of Houston’s most idyllic suburbs. It was ranked one of the best places to live in the United States. People are awestruck by its tree canopies, the immaculate master-planned layouts, the nice restaurants, and the numerous shopping options. This suburb even inspired a Grammy-winning Arcade Fire album.
But drive just a few minutes east of the hype, and you’ll find a neglected majority-black community named Tamina. Tamina, originally named Tammany, was established in 1871 as a Freedmen’s Town inside Montgomery County, a place that used to have a bustling economy off the backs of slaves picking cotton. The town was complete with homes, churches, a school, and a general store, all built by the town’s founding families. Tamina covered an area as far north as Conroe, as far west as Magnolia, and as far east as the San Jacinto River. Although many newly freed slaves worked in agriculture, there were some opportunities to be found within Montgomery County’s then-booming logging industry.
In the 1970s, through the Housing and Urban Development’s Model Communities Program, The Woodlands was established, thanks to the vision of oil magnate George Mitchell. A large swath that is now The Woodlands was indeed part of Tamina.
On the morning of October 19, 1974, a flag was raised to symbolize the debut of The Woodlands, a new hometown. Oil entrepreneur and philanthropist George Mitchell founded The Woodlands with the vision of an all-encompassing community where the natural forested environment would be preserved, and residents could live, work, learn and play. A Grand Opening ribbon was cut that special morning by George’s wife Cynthia Woods Mitchell.
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The vision of George Mitchell was to create 1.5 jobs per household in The Woodlands. The Howard Hughes Corporation has achieved this goal for some time now and it continues to remain a focus as the community grows.
“Howard Hughes has stayed true to the vision of George Mitchell, helping ensure The Woodlands is a self-sustained master planned community, a natural refuge that nurtures the best in family, quality of life and career opportunities,” said Jim Carman, President – Houston Region for The Howard Hughes Corporation. “I am honored that The Woodlands is one of the most acclaimed master planned communities in the nation and continues to be a global blueprint for environmentally responsible development.”
The “global blueprint for environmentally responsible development”, however, has indeed strained the health of nearby Tamina; it’s as if the oil companies employing residents in The Woodlands haven’t committed enough eco crimes the world over. Tamina already suffers a chronically long period of neglect. It was one of the last places in Montgomery County, if not the last place, to even receive basic infrastructure, such as electricity and water; however, to this day, Tamina still lacks a proper public sewage system. And to make matters worse, toxic waste from an illegal construction landfill in The Woodlands has caused the historical Sweet Rest Cemetery to be all but underwater.
Longtime residents say Tamina was the last place in Montgomery County to get paved streets or a park. Electricity didn't arrive until the early 1960s. Until a few streetlights were installed some 15 years ago, cars regularly struck people walking on dark roads without sidewalks, residents said.
After it rains, poor drainage leaves pools of water in ditches and low-lying areas for months. At least a foot of water covers the graves of more than 250 people, including members of some of Tamina's earliest families, in the Sweet Rest Cemetery on the east side of the community.
As a black-founded town, it has been a challenge for Tamina to even receive basic services, given that, as of the present-day, it is an unincorporated area, not part of a city or a municipal utility district (MUD); at least in Texas, county governments are not set up to provide utilities to its residents. In the early 2000s, Oak Ridge North had sufficient sewage treatment capacity for Tamina homes, and although the city of Oak Ridge North had taken a few years to formulate a plan to provide sewage service to Tamina, Tamina residents were not willing to hand over their autonomy to predominantly white Oak Ridge North, given that Oak Ridge North officials were unwilling to transfer ownership of the utility system back to non-profit Old Tamina Water Supply Corp, owned by Tamina residents connected to the service. And the people of Tamina are not willing to be annexed by nearby Shenandoah simply for services, given the pride of being a black-founded town. Although, Shenandoah officials raised concern on Shenandoah being liable for repaying existing federal loans as a result of Tamina residents being unable to pay rates for the water and sewer services.
As Annette Hardin, one of the descendants of the founding families, told [Marti Corn], “The value developers place on our land is vastly different than ours. What they don’t understand is that it’s not just our property—it’s our legacy. The land represents the blood, heart, and soul of our African American heritage.”
If basic needs fail to be addressed, then not only will Tamina struggle to build new homes or stores, but Tamina’s future as a community may be in jeopardy. But Joanne Callahan Ducharme, the community development director of Montgomery County, stated that the fact that the county has no obligation to help Tamina has nothing to do with race.
"Nowhere above has anything been stated or hinted at that has to do with race, or with income level, or with residents of Tamina personally," Ducharme wrote. "Many persons in many entities have attempted to assist Tamina with this project in the past . . . None of these entities has had an obligation to assist you. Those who have withdrawn have done so for a variety of reasons, none of which have anything to do with race, income, or personal animosity toward anyone in Tamina."
This is a place that stays with you.