Katy Homes - The Transformation from Rugged and Rural

When speaking to Carol Adams, President of Katy Heritage Society, it’s amazing to see how drastically the lifestyle of a typical Katyite has changed over the past hundred or so years. Yes, we now have numerous strip malls, award winning schools, major freeways, arts and entertainment venues, but surprisingly one of the biggest changes is not where we live, but the kinds of homes we live in.

Home on the Katy Range
When speaking of Katy life in the mid 1800s Carol Adams says, “The lifestyle in Katy was rural– it was hard to create a life from raw prairie,” Long ago, Katy homes did not have any sort of plumbing system or electricity and climate control was out of the question. The prairie was rugged and not intended for sustaining human life so it took a great deal of work to manual labor just to survive. Although, Houston was a nearby neighbor with bountiful resources, getting there was another story. “Most anything that someone would have wanted could be found in Houston, but the roads were not always reliable. Once rail service was established, the trip was greatly simplified and most people in Katy could have anything they could afford,” says Adams.

Back to the Future
Homeowners in today’s information age now have all the modern conveniences, with even more on the horizon. David Sims of DP Sims & Associates believes that home networking, for example, is becoming more of a necessity than a luxury. “I think technology is finding its way in the home more and more,” says Sims. “People want to network, share their files and other resources such as printers.”
Paul Connolly, a Katy homeowner agrees. His family had their home wired with Category 5, a home network connecting five computers. “It’s great for the kids. Instead of fighting over one machine and tying up the phone line, with a router and a broadband connection, you can suddenly have multiple machines and the resources of one machine available to all. Everyone can do their own thing.”

In Home Control Station
“Integration– it’s all about making everything work together,” says Tami Kennedy, director of sales and marketing at En-Touch Systems. “Downloading music from the Internet and playing it through your home speakers, viewing the front door for the pizza man, and waiting for an instant message from grandma all on your home computer screen. It is now about helping consumers bring all those functions together in their home.”
Kennedy says these kinds of technology trends are on the rise, especially in fast growing communities such as the Katy area, “With so many customers working from home, the convenience of having one place to control is key. In home-based businesses, telecommuting develops a need for seamless integration. Making work and home life more convenient is ideal.

It’s always and will be about convenience.”

VISIT KATY HERITAGE PARK
As we move forward, it’s important to hold on to our past. Katy Heritage Park was created by a joint effort from the Katy Heritage Society and the City of Katy to keep part of Katy’s past alive. Visitors can view historic homes on display at 5990 George Bush Dr. For more information, visit www.KatyHeritageSociety.com. The photos of historic Katy homes showcased in this story were taken at the Katy Heritage Museum. Special thanks to Carol Adams, the City of Katy, and the Katy Heritage Society.

Kim Thai graduated from Mayde Creek High School with Honors in 2004. She
is now studying Print Journalism at The University of Houston.

Submit your Katy news to editor@katymagazine.com.