Although 50 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico, Houston is one of the major seaports in the United States. Before there was a Houston there was a Harrisburg, a maritime trading post founded in 1824 by John Harris. In 1829 Harris died, leaving his brothers to resolve the inheritance of the town.

In 1836, the inheritance still unresolved, Augustus and John Allen attempted to purchase the town but found the price too high. They found a suitable plot of land farther up the bayou and established Houston, named for Gen. Sam Houston, who had just defeated the Mexicans at nearby San Jacinto.