Acres Homes may have started in 1910, but city services, like sewers, modern roads, and reliable fire service did not come online until the mid-1970s.
Early settlers to the area, almost exclusively, African American families came for their piece of the American Dream.
Acres Homes has alternately been called “Acre Homes” and “Acreage Homes”. It presented a rare opportunity for African American families to own substantial acreage.
Before the area was annexed in phases by the City of Houston, Acres Homes was considered one of the biggest, if not the biggest African American communities in the U.S.
The City of Houston annexed the area in pieces starting in the 1960s.
“The wild wild west, the streets weren’t paved,” Charles Ingram, a longtime resident and champion for the area, said.
Ingram is a difference-maker for Acres Homes and is President of Acres Homes Citizens’ Council, a collection of 17 civic groups in the area.
“If there’s a street light in one part of town, there should be a street light in the other part of town,” Ingram said.
Longtime residents seem united in the belief that the area remains underserved.
Major retailers and popular mainstream grocery stores still have not settled in Acres Homes even though nearly 30,000 people call these nine square miles on the northwest side of Houston home.
“I understand they’re doing what they’re supposed to do in white areas. But in the Black areas, there’s always the lag. I can’t get my ditch cleaned out.,” resident Carol Wilson said.
Acres Homes skew slightly older than Houston as a whole with a greater portion of the population in the 65 and over category, according to the city census data.
About 14% of residents fall into the category vs. the 10% city average.
Acres Homes also remains well behind the city average in income, with 39% of residents reporting individual income under $25,000 vs the city average of 24%.
Charles Ingram is trying his hardest to improve that metric as well as the education gap in the area.
Ingram has carved out a significant portion of his savings to create an education endowment for Acres Homes’ next generation.
“I want them to know who they are, where they come from, and where they can go,” Ingram said.