Editing Missouri City, Texas (section)

== History ==
The area in which Missouri City is now located holds a significant part in the [[history of Texas]] that dates back to its early days as part of the United States. In August 1853, the [[Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway]] (BBB&C), began operating its first {{convert|20|mi}} of rail line that stretched from [[Harrisburg, Houston|Harrisburg]] (now [[Houston]]) to Stafford's Point (now [[Stafford, Texas|Stafford]]). It was the first railroad to begin operating in Texas, and the first [[standard gauge]] railroad west of the [[Mississippi River]].{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

The railway continued its extension westward until, in 1883, it linked with its eastward counterpart, completing the Sunset Route from [[Los Angeles]] to [[New Orleans]]. Today, the route of the BBB&C (now owned by the [[Union Pacific Railroad]]) is still an important and heavily operated railroad line.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

In 1890, two real estate investors from Houston (R. M. Cash and L. E. Luckle) purchased {{convert|4|sqmi|abbr=on}} of land directly on the route of the BBB&C, only a mile and a half from its first stop at Stafford's Point. They advertised the property as "a land of genial sunshine and eternal summer" in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], and its surrounding areas. Three years later, W. R. McElroy purchased {{convert|80|acre|ha|abbr=on}} in the same vicinity, and in an effort to promote the area jointly with Cash and Luckle in St. Louis, he named it "Missouri City". Its first settlers were, however, from [[Arlington, Texas]], between [[Dallas]] and [[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]].{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

The settlement was officially registered in Texas in 1894, and began to take shape as a railroad town along Main Street and Blue Ridge Road, now known as [[U.S. Route 90 Alternate (Texas)|US 90A]] and Texas Parkway, respectively. Its growth took an unexpected turn when, on February 14, 1895, shortly after the first group of settlers had arrived, the town was hit with a [[blizzard]]. This discouraged some of the newcomers, who gave up and moved elsewhere. Those unwavered stayed and found success in farming and ranching.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

Among its first businesses were a [[blacksmith]] shop, a depot, and a general store, which also housed the first [[post office]]. The first [[Roman Catholic church|Catholic church]] was built in 1913, but was destroyed by a [[hurricane]] in 1915. The new church built to replace it stood until 1990.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

[[Petroleum|Oil]] was discovered at Blue Ridge {{convert|4|mi|0|abbr=on}} southeast of town in 1919; soon after, a [[salt mine]] opened there. Missouri City became the railroad shipping point for these two resources. In 1925, at the same location, [[natural gas]] was discovered. After a pipeline had been constructed the following year, Missouri City became the first town in Fort Bend County to make use of natural gas.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

With the benefit of a railroad, Missouri City had already been home to [[commuting|commuters]] who, by train, traveled to adjacent towns such as [[Stafford, Texas|Stafford's Point]] and [[Sugar Land, Texas|Sugar Land]] to work. With the increase of automobiles and the improvement of roads and highways in the early part of the 20th century, the developing community of Missouri City gradually attracted a wealth of newcomers. This gave birth to a new generation of commuters, replacing railroad commuting that eventually became obsolete. By the 1950s, the town began to take shape as a  "[[bedroom community]]" suburb of Houston.

After fear and rumor spread of possible [[annexation]] of the unincorporated town by Houston, town leaders scrambled to piece together a [[city government]]. On March 13, 1956, the community that began as a small settlement more than 55 years earlier was [[incorporation (municipal government)|incorporated]].{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

Missouri City has since seen tremendous economic growth, moving eastward, southward, and then westward. The city was first made over by Fondren Park (in Harris County), near US 90A, in the early 1960s, followed by [[Quail Valley (Missouri City, Texas)|Quail Valley]], along Cartwright Road between Texas Parkway and Murphy Road, in the late 1960s. Unlike neighboring Houston, Missouri City has been a [[zoning|zoned]] city since 1981. Multifamily complexes (e.g. apartments and condominiums) are a rare find because of the current zoning ordinance.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

[[File:The City's Historic Freedom Tree.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.0|Historic Freedom Tree Park]]
In the 1980s, an influx of middle-class [[African Americans]] – most of them first-time homeowners – were attracted to developing communities south and west of Houston. Many of them made the [[subdivision (land)|subdivisions]] of Missouri City home. Teal Run and other unincorporated areas east of Highway 6 became ethnically diverse before neighborhoods farther west. Many of the newcomers were employees within nearby Houston work centers (e.g., [[Texas Medical Center]] and [[Greenway Plaza]]). In 2000, Missouri City was named a model city for middle-class African Americans by [[Black Entertainment Television]].

The Missouri City area's recent upscale, master-planned residential developments include Lake Olympia, south of Quail Valley, and portions of [[Riverstone, Texas|Riverstone]], south of [[Texas State Highway 6|State Highway 6]]. The nearby unincorporated area of [[Sienna Plantation, Texas|Sienna Plantation]], also located south of Highway 6, is situated on and around land once occupied by plantations, where among other things, [[sugarcane]] and [[cotton]] were harvested.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

In 2018 Yolanda Ford became the first black mayor and first female mayor of Missouri City.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abc13.com/politics/yolanda-ford-beats-24-year-mayor-allen-owen-in-missouri-city/4868283/|title=Yolanda Ford beats 24-year incumbent Missouri City Mayor Allen Owen|publisher=[[KTRK-TV]]|date=2018-12-09|access-date=2018-12-11}}</ref> In 2020, Ford lost her campaign for reelection.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Foxhall|first=Emily|date=2020-12-13|title=Yolanda Ford, the first Black mayor of Missouri City, loses re-election|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Yolanda-Ford-the-first-Black-mayor-of-Missouri-15797753.php|access-date=2021-08-10|website=Houston Chronicle|language=en-US}}</ref>