Where is Katy?
Katy is a city at the meeting point of Harris, Waller and Fort Bend counties. It lies on Interstate 10 and U.S. Highway 90, west of Houston. The 2020 Census counted 21,894 residents. The city’s land area is 14.54 square miles.
How did Katy develop?
The area was open prairie and a hunting ground for the Karankawa. The earliest settlement, in 1872, was called Cane Island, after Cane Island Creek. The name Katy may come from the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (M-K-T) Railroad, which runs through the town.
The M-K-T built through the site by the end of 1893. J. O. Thomas, L. C. Luckel and R. M. Cash platted the townsite in 1895. A post office opened in 1896, and the depot was finished in 1898. The 1900 hurricane that destroyed Galveston also destroyed most of Katy’s buildings. The town rebuilt.
William Eule introduced rice farming in 1901. Rice replaced cotton, peanuts and corn as the main crop. The discovery well of the Katy gas field was drilled in 1934. A Humble gas plant began operating in 1943. Population rose from about 400 to 800 that year.
The City of Katy was incorporated in 1945. In 1986, the local Texas Sesquicentennial Committee placed historical markers on more than a dozen homes and buildings downtown.
Who governs Katy, and who provides services?
Katy is a home rule city with a mayor and city council. A charter committee drafted the Home Rule Charter, which was adopted in 1981. The city describes the charter as the city’s constitution. A copy is in the Code of Ordinances.
The City of Katy provides water and garbage service to residents.
Which school districts serve Katy?
Katy Independent School District covers 181 square miles. Its eastern edge reaches Houston’s Energy Corridor, about 16 miles west of downtown Houston. Its western edge runs along Interstate 10 to a few miles past Katy. The district’s address is 6301 S. Stadium Lane, Katy.