As longtime friends with Maudeen Marks, I was saddened when around 2014 the family finally sold off the last few acres of the LH7 Ranch in Barker Reservoir. Located adjacent to where the South end of Barker Cypress turns into Kingsland, this land is where Emil Marks, Maudeen’s father, settled in the late 19th century and began raising their famous LH7 herd of longhorns. The LH7 was also where the first Houston Rodeo was held and the Salt Grass Trial was established – amazing bit of Texas history literally at our doorstep.
Following devastating flooding in 1929 and 1935 (see https://www.dtn.com/houstons-history-of-floods/), most of the LH7 ranch was taken by the US Gov via eminent domain to build Barker Reservoir and save downtown Houston. The Marks retained a few acres where the original family home stood for over a century. Maudeen lived there until her health began to fail around 2010 and she moved to Bandera. As boys, my Brothers and I would spend summers on the LH7 helping Maudeen around the ranch and imagining we were real cowpokes. She told us many stories about the 1929 and 1935 floods, one where she went out with her Dad in a boat to retrieve cattle stranded on an “island”. She recalled that island being along the Bayou about where Fleetwood is today. After the reservoirs were completed in 1945-46, there were numerous other floods she recalled where reservoir waters surrounded her home and left them stranded.
Knowing firsthand the Marks property was prone to flooding and within the reservoir boundary margins, I was alarmed when in 2013-2014 a developer purchased the land, leveled the LH7 homestead and began building a large apartment complex. Today, the Kingsland West Apartments stand where the Mark’s homestead once was. Attached is a Google Earth sat photo of the Kingsland Apartments during Harvey flooding in Sept 2017. As you might imagine the complex was severely flooded, forcing high-water rescues of residents.
In November of 2021 Lakeside Place LLC purchased this apartment complex. It has enjoyed a tax-free status since, presumably under the same guise of “affordable housing”. Look on HCAD for account # 1346520010001 I have yet to confirm affordable housing criteria was used for the specific tax exemption, but it sure looks the same on HCAD to other exempt properties lakeside Place LLC now owns.
My nostalgia aside, this is yet another example why building any multi-family housing in a flood prone area is shortsighted and just a bad idea. Lakeside Place LLC certainly knows this as well from the Kingsland West Apartments history.
Chris Culberson