In the late 1880s, about 1,765 acres of land were purchased for development northwest of the city of Houston by The Omaha and South Texas Land Company. This new suburb was marketed as a planned community in a forest which would provide streets, sidewalks, schools, waterworks, electricity, streetcars, churches, commerce and more in a healthy setting 23 feet above Houston.  The Land Company paid about $45 per acre then proceeded to develop the Houston Heights including building 17 mansions along Heights Boulevard and Harvard.  

Photo courtesy of the Houston Public Library, HMRC