Comment of the Day: The Great Northern Divide

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVIDE “So what’s the deal with the ‘Conroe’ vs. ‘The Woodlands’ location name ambiguity? Seems to me that a lot of people living up that way have a Conroe mailing address but claim the name “The Woodlands” when saying where they live. The address of this listing is 0 Darby Loop Conroe, TX 77385, and in the first sentence of the listing description, the realtor claims it is ‘…in The Woodlands!’ (emphasis unaltered). Recently I tried to mail something to my uncle who lives in the ‘The Woodlands,’ but I had his mailing address listed as ‘Conroe.’ So I called him to verify, and he gave me a really long explanation that explained nothing and only confused me more. In the end, he instructed me to write ‘The Woodlands’ on the envelope, even though he mentioned that the name ‘Conroe’ is actually on the sign at his local Post Office.” [Superdave, commenting on Houston Home Listing Photo of the Day: House Chopper]

17 Comment

  • I’m still trying to figure out when Montrose became *snicker* THE MONTROSE!!!

  • There may be a USPS-related rationalization, however, I assure you the the reason for this distinction is that Conroe is a redneck cess pool and The Woodlands is merely a suburban cess pool.

  • Just write “BFE” on it to cover both.

  • Same reason anything north of Buffalo Bayou is called ‘The Heights’

  • The Woodlands doesn’t exist – as far as USPS is concerned. The oldest zip codes 77380 and 77381 were always “Spring” even though they are in the middle of The Woodlands.

    However, the listing you mentioned at 0 Darby Loop is neither in Conroe nor The Woodlands, nor is it a “loop” (http://tinyurl.com/4tj8h5q), nor is the address at ZERO. Discuss amongst yourselves, (I’m getting a little verklempt).

  • This may be more info than anyone needs but wtf –
    According to the USDA Soil Conservation and Forest Services, this acreage consists of Sorter Silt Loam: “level, poorly drained and high in silt content… saturated with water for long periods each year. These soils are used mainly for timber.”
    This explains why the property was solid forest until this place was built: it had to be clear-cut in order to increase it’s elevation (‘razed to be raised.’)

  • Hellsing: “I’m still trying to figure out when Montrose became *snicker* THE MONTROSE!!!”

    It’s been that way since I was a teen and I’m pushing 40.

  • I guess the snobs that live in “The Woodlands” don’t want to be thought of as being country bunpkins from Conroe.

  • Woodlands people are worse or at least on par with the Snobbery to be found in West U, the average 3 story stucco monstrosities to be found in Rice Military area/and even some of the more upscale parts of the heights. I grew up there, and one it’s now a Woodlands address, formerly spring. And all schools in the Woodlands are CISD (Conroe). Of course some very wealthy people live around lake Conroe too. I personally can’t stand the woodlands, it’s homogenous, boring, and anyone College years or younger is either selling or using drugs. But mom and and dad are convinced their *hit doesn’t stink, and are oft completely oblivious to the fact it’s a very druggy culture. Conroe is to some degree a bastion for white trash, but then again the woodlands also has several HUD owned apartments, so any so called snobbery is just absurd, they’re cut from the same cloth. Aside from tennis lessons, and great places to skate in the late 80’s all my memories of the Woodlands are pretty lousy.

  • Montrose became The Montrose somewhere around the 80s. I don’t know why, but I think it was around the time “Neartown” became an issue. Anybody remember the “Neartown” controversy?

  • When I lived off Montrose and Westheimer in the late sixties, we just said we lived “off Westheimer”. There was no mention of Montrose. Folks then knew what we meant.

    People lived in that area as well as Heights because rent was cheap back then.

  • Dear Personman,

    I’m nearing 60 and all we called Montrose back in the early 60s was Grandmothers house.

  • Soon to be 50 here and lived in Montrose full-time until I was 18. I’m imagining the reaction if somebody at, say, Cabaret Voltaire had said “The Montrose” and it ain’t pretty.

  • I am a Houston native, grew up around Montrose and still do. We always called it “home.” Interestingly the area seems to have expanded along with its popularity and decreased stigma, seems as though it now extends from Allen Pkwy to SW Frwy and Smith to Shepherd. Similarly the Menil area was quick to become chic due to its prestige and you see that area overlapping Montrose.

    Just stick with your hood, wherever it may be and like all fashion, it will come back into vogue.

  • That montrose is in Paris.. :) I like Cabaret Voltaire too, but they’ve never been to houston..

  • When I moved here in 81, it was simply Montrose. Have no idea when the The got added. The Heights was marketed as Houston Heights from its very beginnings, as it was a planned community; a suburb of Houston. I would guess the Houston was seldom used since it was sorta redundant.
    Back in 81, I chose a rental in The Heights because north of The Katy was cheaper than Montrose.

  • The Woodlands is more of a township than an actual town. Half of The Woodlands has a Spring address while the other half has a Conroe address. The Woodlands will actually become it’s own town in 2014. This has something to do with the annexation of Kingwood to the City of Houston some years ago and they didn’t want that fiasco to happen again in The Woodlands.