History

Early History

If you are interested in an in-depth look into the history of Klein, Texas the Klein Historical Foundation's website has a wealth of information - https://www.kleinhistorical.org/

Near the intersection of what is now Strack Road and Wunderlich Road was the site of Jacob Strack’s sawmill. In 1888, Jacob Strack bought 602 acres of land south of Cypress Creek for $1,350, approximately $2.25 per acre, to build a large sawmill. His sawmill became the most prominent one in the neighborhood. Jacob Strack was the son of one of the five Strack brothers who came to Texas in the mid-1800s. His first sawmill was near present-day Strack Farms restaurant and was in partnership with Jacob Theiss. Lumbering was an important economic activity from the earliest days of settlement along Cypress Creek, and over the years there have been numerous sawmills in the area.

By the late 1950s, Houston was fast emerging as one of America’s super-cities dominant in the petrochemical and aerospace fields. The newcomers flocked to the area and, due to their preference for wooded home sites, subdivision developers looked north of the city where it seemed to be cooler and less humid. Thanks to the new road, FM 1960 golfers could easily reach the Champions Golf Club and it wasn’t long before premier subdivisions were built in the great northwest area.

Roads in the area that are named after early settlers

Strack
Herman Strack was the oldest of five sons who came to Texas from Prussia in 1848. He was a blacksmith turned farmer, purchasing land near Cypress Creek. The land was part of two of the original 1836 Republic of Texas grants. The family continues to farm the land first purchased by Herman Strack.

Wunderlich
In the 1850s, two Wunderlich brothers, Peter and Jost, came to Texas from Germany, seeking a new beginning. By 1861 the two brothers were joined by their sister, Katherina Wunderlich Hassler, and her husband Wilhem. Peter homesteaded land, and in 1861 he was granted title to 577 acres. In 1864, during the Civil War, Peter was fatally burned in a gunpowder explosion near Spring Creek. Peter and his wife Katherina had six children. Their descendants have continued to farm the land for over 100 years. In the early 1870s, Jost Wunderlich bought 100 acres of land on the west side of Kuykendahl Road between Spring-Cypress and Rhodes Roads. Bridgestone West subdivision is on this land today.

Mittelstädt
Carl Theodore Wilhelm Mittelstädt arrived in the United States in 1869 with his wife Wilhilmene and five of their six children. They had lived in Semlow, Franzburg County, which today is in northern East Germany. The house they built still exists. Today there are almost 2000 direct descendants of these original Mittelstädts.

Benfer
Henry Benfer and his wife Elizabeth came from Westfalen, Germany in late 1866. They bought about 200 acres of land in the Klein area and began farming. Henry later became one of the founders of Trinity Lutheran Church. There are about 300 living descendants of Henry Benfer today.

Cypress Creek Parkway (FM-1960)
The “FM” stands for “farm-to-market” road. The road was given this number in the 1950s. Earlier sections of the road had different names. The section called Bammel road was originally a dirt trail through the woods. The western part of FM-1960 west of Stuebner-Airline was once called Jackrabbit Road. In 2010 the road was renamed Cypress Creek Parkway to help spur economic development.

Development

In 1977 McCory-Hellbeck Development Co. Inc., of Houston Texas, purchased the 39. 9 acres tract that is now known as The Woods of Wimbledon. McCory-Hellbeck established the deed restrictions and sub-divided the land into plots. During the construction time, there were several contractors in the area working on developing other neighboring communities such as Huntwick, Champions Forest, and Green Woods. Some of the contractors were responsible for the construction of the houses in our community, and they share similar qualities and design features of homes in other subdivisions.
Upon sale of the last home that was built, McCory-Hellbeck arranged for the elections to establish the Board of Directors for the Home Owners Association. The official Woods of Wimbledon Civic Association was established with the State of Texas on December 1, 1978. Some of the original owners still live in the neighborhood today. Over the past 45 years, there has been a lot of growth in the surrounding area; however, the community has remained relatively unchanged.

Today

Local government
Harris County Emergency Service District #29 Fire Department, headquartered at Champions Forest Drive, serves our community fire protection needs.
Champions Emergency Service is contracted through Harris County Emergency Services District #11 to serve our community ambulance needs.
Both emergency services are taxing entities that are responsible for serving the communities in their specific capacity. Taxes are assessed annually by the Harris County Appraisal District.

County, State, and Federal Representation
The Woods of Wimbledon Civic Association is within Harris County Precinct 4.
The community is served by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office District 1Patrol, headquartered from the Cypresswood Substation at 6831 Cypresswood Drive and the Harris County Constable, precinct 4, Spring TX.
The United States Postal Service operates the Klein Post Office at 7717 Louetta Road, Spring, Texas.

Education
The Woods of Wimbledon community is served by the Klein Independent School District, established by the Texas Legislature in 1977. The Klein ISD area joined the Lone Star College District (formerly North Harris Montgomery Community College) in 1998.