Where is Cypress?
Cypress is an unincorporated community in northwestern Harris County. It lies on U.S. Highway 290, about 20 miles northwest of Houston. The Texas Almanac lists Cypress as not incorporated. It has a post office.
How did Cypress develop?
Atakapan tribes once lived in the area. Land along Cypress Creek was first granted in 1835 to J. H. Callihan, a member of Stephen F. Austin’s fifth colony. German immigrants began settling along the creek in the 1840s, near Anglo-American ranchers already there.
By 1856 the area had a post office, and the Texas and New Orleans Railroad connected Cypress to Houston. A dance hall on Huffmeister Road was built in 1878. After a fire, it was rebuilt in corrugated tin with support from the Cypress Gun and Rifle Club. The first Cypress school was built in 1884.
A hot artesian well found near Cypress led to the Houston Hotwell Sanitarium and Hotel. Rice and dairy farming were the main occupations until suburban development began in the 1950s. Forrest Arnold established the Cy-Fair Rodeo in 1944.
A Texas Historical Commission marker for Cypress was dedicated in 2013. It stands in Harris County Cypress Top Historic Park at 26026 Hempstead Highway. The park preserves a remnant of the railroad community.
Who governs Cypress, and who provides services?
Cypress has no city government. Harris County’s Office of the County Engineer requires a permit for development in unincorporated Harris County. That includes floodplain permits under the Harris County Floodplain Management Regulations.
A Texas county is not required to provide water and sewer service the way a city is. In unincorporated Harris County, municipal utility districts (MUDs) provide those services.
Which school districts serve Cypress?
Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District was created after a December 1939 election merged the Cypress and Fairbanks school systems. It took the independent school district name in the early 1960s. The district covers 186 square miles. The 1884 Cypress School stood on the site of today’s Lamkin Elementary.
How does flooding affect Cypress?
The Cypress Creek watershed covers about 267 square miles in northwest Harris County and extends into Waller County. It has about 250 miles of open waterways. Its primary streams are Cypress Creek and Little Cypress Creek. The Harris County Flood Control District runs projects in the watershed.