Memorial Villages, Houston, Texas

Memorial Villages is the collective name given to six contiguous villages on the western edge of Houston; Hunters Creek Village, Bunker Hill Village, Hedwig Village, Spring Valley Village, Hilshire Village and Piney Point Village. The land on which the villages are located was originally part of land grants given to John Taylor as one of the Old Three Hundred, and Isaac Bunker and A.H. Osborne for their service during the Texas War of Independence from Mexico.

The history of the Memorial Villages began, for most of them, with the arrival of German immigrant farmers. As farms were carved out of the wilderness, trees were felled and sawmills were built to supply the building of houses and barns. By the mid-1960s, there were schools and churches in the villages.

A group of citizens from each of these villages gathered in the early 1950s to discuss their concerns with the lack of zoning as Houston expansion led to the annexation of unincorporated towns into the City of Houston. It was decided to incorporate the six villages to keep them independent of Houston and allow them to create their own zoning ordinances.

Each of the Memorial Villages has its own municipal court, and a Mayor-Council form of government, generally comprised of an elected mayor and five City Council members. The villages are primarily made up of residential buildings. Village Fire Department located in Hedwig Village serves all six Memorial Villages. Three police departments serve the six villages; Memorial Villages Police Department serves Bunker Hill, Hunters Creek and Piney Point, Hedwig Village Police Department serves Hedwig, and Spring Valley Police Department serves Spring Valley and Hilshire. All six villages are part of the Spring Branch Independent School District and are served by the Spring Branch Memorial Branch Public Library.

Parks and trails abound in the Memorial Villages. City Park in Spring Valley Village features several memorial plaques and a beautiful statue called Love’s Embrace that pays tribute to a mother and two young daughters who perished in the crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996. Memorial Park , one of the largest urban parks in the U.S, is located near Hunters Creek Village. The Terry Hershey Park Hike & Bike Trail passes near Bunker Hill Village. These are just a couple of the many parks, trails and green spaces in and near Memorial Villages.

Memorial Villages began as small, scattered farming and logging communities. Today, due to their restrictive zoning allowing them to retain small town characteristics and their proximity to the big city shopping, entertainment, dining and employment opportunities provided by Houston, Memorial Villages have risen above their humble beginnings and are now known as some of the most affluent and desirable communities in the state of Texas.