About Our Community
Conroe, Montgomery County, Willis, The Woodlands, Montgomery, and the many communities of this area see many new residents and businesses arrive every year. So this part of the website is here to provide information about the area we serve, to our new friends and neighbors who might like to learn more about their new hometown.

A Quick History of the Conroe, Texas Area
As one might expect, native tribal peoples inhabited the Montgomery County area going back about 10,000 years as estimated by scholars on the topic. The Atakapan Indians were comprised of various related tribes that were mostly hunter-gatherer peoples. The range of these people groups extended from the Old San Antonio road of the Spanish Crown in the North, to the Gulf Coast. Life was hard for the tribal peoples. Hardships such as disease, war with other Indian Tribes, intermarriage, and migration elsewhere reduced their numbers such that no trace was left in the area by 1850.

European arrivals came from the Crowns of France and Spain, with explorers journeying through the area in the 16th and 17th centuries. Spain made the strongest claim. In 1825, Stephen F. Austin contracted with Mexican authorities to bring 500 families to what would become known as Austin’s Second Colony. Members of that group of pioneers and homesteaders received Mexican land grants to settle near Lake Creek in what is now known as western Montgomery County, forming by 1831 the Lake Creek Settlement.

During the Texas Revolution in 1835-1836, these settlers sided with the new Republic of Texas. For a time they located in Washington County. With people returning to Mongomery County by 1837 and to the Lake Creek Settlement, the store founded by a Mr. W.W. Shepperd and his business associate John Wyatt Moody became the focal point of the growing settlement. A stagecoach line ran from Huntsville to Houston and stopped at Shepperd’s Store. Probably taking the name of Montgomery County, Alabama, the townsite of Montgomery was founded in 1837. President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston, on December 14, 1837 signed an act of the Congress of the Republic of Texas to form Montgomery County.

Local historians claim that Montgomery County is the “Birthplace of the Lone Star Flag”, crediting a Mr. Charles B. Stewart of the town of Montgomery as the designer in 1839.

Settlers arrived and population grew 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 had organized the first church in Montgomery town. During the Civil War, hundreds of the men in the area volunteered for Southern military units and saw much action. Nearly three-fourths of those were killed or wounded. Rebuilding after the war and its numerous effects was difficult. Attempts to make income by growing ever-more acres of only cotton badly depleted the soil.

Recovery finally began in the 1870s when railroads arrived. As new towns sprang up, a competition for the new County Seat emerged. In 1889, the young 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. Commerce increased, by 1900 the county population exceeded 17,000.

The lumber industry greatly benefitted 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. The clearings of open fields following the lumbering 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. By 1930 the Great Depression effects had taken hold. Joblessness increased, the county population fell. Farming was hardest hit with falling prices, soil depletion, and boll weevil infestations.

Oil was discovered 6 ½ 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, a general prosperity to counter 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.

Since World War II, the farming and lumbering in the area stabilized. Ranching, livestock, and equine activities increased. Greenhouse and nursery products businesses appeared. New highways made it possible for Montgomery County residents to commute to jobs in nearby Houston.

In 2020 the census counted 620,443 people living 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 is a relatively short drive to Houston and all the attractions of a major metropolitan area. Both Interestate 45 and the Hardy Toll Road provide direct routes to central Houston. So a Conroe area resident can enjoy the small-town vibe and enjoy the major league sports, cultural, dining, and entertainment of Houston and the Galveston bay and island areas.

Highly rated public schools are another thing to like about Conroe. With 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 also promote good safety by protection from a specially trained police force.

Cost of living is favorable in Conroe, being 5% to 7% less costly than the national average. The median home price in the city is about $322,000.