Katy, Texas (population approx. 12,400) is a western suburb of Houston, located in Fort Bend County. A thriving community (the city and its immediate surrounding area is one of the top 10 fastest growing areas in the United States), Katy is a wonderful blend of rustic and modern, agriculture and industry, old and new.

Katy Then

The first families of Katy settled in what was then known as Cane Island in the late 1870s. By 1891, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad had been completed and ran right through the town. People flocked to the city, especially farmers and ranchers eager to take advantage of the spacious and rich land and the quick transport to larger markets. In 1895, the city was incorporated under the name Katy (as in "K-T" for the Kansas-Texas line).

1897 marked an important development in Katy's history: an enterprising farmer saw the rainy spring season common to the Gulf coast, and had an idea. He set up irrigation troughs and began growing rice. This and cotton became the predominant cash crops of Katy.

The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 (documented so excellently in Erik Larson's Isaac's Storm) had devastating repercussions even in Katy nearly 60 miles away. Only two houses survived without any damage. Still, the settlement thrived, adding natural gas refinement plants in the late 1930s and becoming a major producer of soybeans beginning in 1951.

Katy Now

Katy stands out as one of the major rice-producing cities in America. Katy has seven high schools, 14 middle schools, and 31 elementaries. It also is the home of Katy Mills Mall, one of only eight nationwide, and a particular cavalcade of niche and novelty stores, with interests ranging from anime to medical scrubs to (my personal favorite) tribal death masks. Some other places of interest include The Forbidden Garden, a Chinese culture museum hidden away amongst the rice fields of South Katy, and the Alkek Velodrome, the largest cycling velodrome in the southern United States. Of course, it seems beside the point to mention Katy is only 30 minutes away from the delights of downtown Houston.

Famous denizens of Katy include one-time NBA regular Matt Wenstrom, current Oklahoma split end standout Curtis Fagan, actress Renée Zellweger, actress Renée O'Connor (most famous for playing Gabrielle on Xena, Warrior Princess and being a one-time Mouseketeer), and current Houston Astros/future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens. Oh, and yours truly.

Sources

• Katy, Texas Official Website - http://www.katytexas.com
• The Katy Times - http://www.katytimes.com