Economic and Population Shifts in the ‘Houston Hamptons’ 

On the road again. This time my windshield survey begins in Hempstead. The 290 Corridor and I-10 in tandem are strong facilitators of economic and population growth. Founded in 1856, Hempstead was a manufacturing center during the Civil War and known for cotton and textiles afterward. Designated as the Waller County seat in 1873, the area became known as a shipping center for produce. During the 1940s, the city led the nation in the shipment of watermelons. Agricultural produce is still a factor in the economy.  

It is notable Hempstead is home to a significant number of European Jewish immigrants. Jewish citizens had a huge impact on small Texas communities. Often, they operated local retail shops supplying clothing, dry goods, and more. They were critical to the sustainability and makeup of most towns in south central Texas. 

Hempstead’s population took off after 2020 (then 5,509), growing to 6,537 by the summer of 2023—almost 19 percent growth. Note that the U.S. Census Bureau counts only the population within the “city place” (township boundaries). On the ground, there is substantial residential activity well outside of city limits. Hempstead’s land characteristics mark a change from the prairie to the Post Oak belt and rolling hills that Houstonians adore and gravitate to.  

With growth comes changes in wildlife. It wasn’t that many years ago that I regularly saw significant numbers of large alligators in Clear Creek, which flows south from Hempstead to the Monaville area.  I haven’t seen any gators there in years. Maybe they simply retreated to less pressured tracts of land, but it is just one more change in the Texas landscape. 

From Hempstead, we cross the Brazos River and arrive in Chappell Hill, founded in 1847 by Mary Hargrove Haller, granddaughter of Robert Wooding Chappell. The town lies in the heart of Austin’s original colony. Its population was not delineated in the Census estimates. 

The town’s Main Street has been designated as a National Register Historic District. The entire region around Chappell Hill and Brenham is home to a high concentration of historic sites from the Republic of Texas era. Tourism is a major economic driver here, and the shops downtown are popular on weekends and during special events.  

Within the last year, many new rural, high-end subdivisions were platted and completed, with new home construction ramping up. A new luxury RV park was completed just west of town in the last couple of years. Significant numbers of residents in the Chappell Hill and Brenham region commute to Houston for work.  

Local Realtors tell me many of the homes that were historically second homes have become primary residences of those former absentee owners. COVID accelerated the work-from-home trend and its hybrids. With the northwest edge of Houston only a 45-minute drive away, many now commute and work there full-time.  

Brenham was established in 1844 and named after Richard Fox Brenham. It is the county seat of Washington County (and, of course, home of Blue Bell ice cream). The town’s population has grown, reaching 19,442 in 2023. Building permit activity really ramped up several years ago when one national and one regional volume homebuilder entered the market. Activity has come down from those highs, but it is still growing.  

Commercial and retail real estate activity is just as vigorous. Brenham’s downtown, with its collections of shops and restaurants, is jam-packed with visitors on weekends and many weekdays as well. Much like Fredericksburg, it has become a tourist destination. According to local civic leaders and real estate professionals, both Brenham and Hempstead are receiving a push in economic activity and population as College Station and the western urbanized edge of Montgomery County grow and exert additional growth pressures on Grimes, Waller, and Washington Counties. 

Over the years, I’ve given many presentations and facilitated a lot of strategy sessions with Realtor groups in this region. In one of those groups, we collectively coined a new term for the coveted rural land and towns in Washington, Grimes, Austin, and Fayette Counties, calling it the “Houston Hamptons.” Burleson and Colorado Counties should probably be added to that list now. Focus groups and interviews this year with leading Realtors revealed demand is coming from both the east and the west—from Houston and from Austin. Growth pressures are also coming from College Station.  

Here are a few motivations for buyers moving to the area: 

• a less stressful, more relaxed way of life;  

• concern over civil unrest, personal safety, and crime in large cities;  

• lower costs of living and fewer tax burdens; 

• in some case more house for the money;  

• the migrants could no longer identify with the dominant culture and values in the city they were leaving (this was almost universal);  

• strong schools;  

• people returning to their roots or to a community similar to one they knew in their youth;  

• the area’s natural beauty;  

• a unique sense of place . . . an identity (history or cultural heritage) that sets the area apart; and  

• opportunities for outdoor recreation (rivers, lakes, and parks).  

Another critical factor for many people is the degree to which a town has avoided the appearance of significant physical decline. Little or no significant growth may be okay to some urban pioneers. Indeed, some strongly prefer a community that is stable but not growing so rapidly that it loses the uniqueness and character that drew them there in the first place.  

The Texas A&M University Press just published a book about areas “being loved to death” entitled Replenishing Our Hills: Protecting Lands in the Heart of the Hill Country. The book cites local initiatives to reverse some of the damage and lost character of their region due to poorly conceived, extensive growth. Some towns are lucky enough to have a resident who is passionate about the town and has the financial resources to make a difference. The infrastructure and services in such towns do not seem to decline or fall into disrepair. Mark Drabenstott, formerly with the Kansas City Fed, who is known for his expertise and has done extensive research on the viability of small towns, cites the investment by local entrepreneurs as one of the leading reasons small towns continue to thrive. 

All notations on history of the towns in this blog were sourced from the Texas State Historical Association.