Settegast is a neighborhood in northeast Houston; it has an average population density between one and five. The community is bordered by the 610 Loop, the Union Pacific Railroad Settegast Yard, and the old Beaumont Highway. The community has many small, wood-framed houses and empty lots. Habitat for Humanity has a prominent stake in the area, and a community garden is underway. There are few commercial and industrial uses within Settegast."SN#50." City of Houston. Retrieved on February 20, 2010. Also, contemporary housing has started to arise within new construction in the area. The City of Houston designated Settegast as a Houston HOPE neighborhood."Settegast." () Houston HOPE. Retrieved on February 20, 2010.
History Settegast was first developed in 1892 by German immigrants William J. and Julius J. Settegast, who had become interested in land speculation back in 1872.()
Settegast was further developed as a planned community in the 1940s, and had streets and lots that were platted during the same decade.Longoria, Rafael and Susan Rogers. "The Rurban Horseshoe." (Archive) Cite 73. The Rice Design Alliance, (Northern Hemisphere) Winter 2008. Page 20. Retrieved on February 24, 2010. Settegast was settled by African Americans seeking land on the northeast side of Houston.
The City of Houston annexed Settegast in 1949 and began providing sewer trunk lines in 1965.Fisher, Robert. "Urban Policy in Houston, Texas." Urban Studies, 1989. 150. Retrieved on February 24, 2010.
In 1966, the Houston-Harris County Economic Opportunity Organization (H-HCEOO) conducted a survey of the Settegast neighborhood termed "The Settegast Report", which was conducted to "gain a better understanding of the problems and issues in one of the city's poorest neighborhoods".
Surveyors found, "though 80% of respondents in Settegast owned their homes, the term 'ownership' must be used in the loosest possible sense...[because] contracts for deed were designed in such a way that borrowers found it impossible to reach the agreed-upon amount because of a multitude of hidden fees and exorbitant finance charges,".
Surveyors found that streamlined sanitation was nonexistent as, "70% of residents received their water from shallow wells that were often contaminated from septic tanks and sewage backups from outhouses". After neighbors found that contaminated well water was being sold to residents, residents, "went to City Hall and demanded a city water supply to replace their contaminated one".
Similarly, surveyors found Settegast was a food desert and that two-thirds of the population did not have a high-school education.
According to Wesley G. Phelps' book A People's War on Poverty: Urban Politics and Grassroots Activists in Houston, an arsonist set fire to the H-HCEOO community center in Settegast on January 17, 1967; moreover, "two thousand completed voter registration forms that had yet to be turned over to the tax assessor-collector" were found.
In 1967, a deputy constable ordered a pregnant resident out of her home due to an eviction order, which the resident claimed the deputy constable, "shoved, cursed, and handcuffed" her and "unfairly booked [her] for aggravated assault".Phelps, Wesley. A People's War on Poverty: Urban Politics and Grassroots Activists in Houston, pg. 152). About 2000 Settegast residents met at a local Baptist church and signed a petition "calling for the immediate dismissal of the said deputy constable".Phelps, Wesley. A People's War on Poverty: Urban Politics and Grassroots Activists in Houston, pg. 153). The deputy constable was not dismissed, though a protest had happened as a response to the resident's evictionPhelps, Wesley. A People's War on Poverty: Urban Politics and Grassroots Activists in Houston, pg. 154.
When Mayor Welch and Congressman Bush "erroneously charged H-HCEOO with using federal funds to stage the protest, the local newspaper repeated the charge and provoked a firestorm of criticism aimed at the organization...[which made] Settegast suff[er] a major setback".Phelps, Wesley. A People's War on Poverty: Urban Politics and Grassroots Activists in Houston, pg. 154-5. "In the wake of the demonstration at City Hall against the treatment of Betty Gentry, members of the Settegast Civic Club, an organization that had existed longer than the poverty program and included several business and religious leaders, expressed fear that protest activity in Settegast was going too far and Earl Allen and his staff were encouraging violence".Phelps, Wesley. A People's War on Poverty: Urban Politics and Grassroots Activists in Houston, pg. 156.
Cityscape Settegast is bounded to the south by the 610 Loop and the Beaumont Freeway, and to the west by a Union Pacific Railroad switching yard.
Rafael Longoria and Susan Rogers of the Rice Design Alliance said that Settegast could be described as "rurban", a word coined in 1918 to describe an area with a mix of urban and rural characteristics.Longoria, Rafael and Susan Rogers. "The Rurban Horseshoe ." Cite 73. The Rice Design Alliance, (Northern Hemisphere) Winter 2008. Pages 18-19. Retrieved on February 24, 2010. Longoria and Rogers said that the original frame houses, described by the two as "modest," are "sparsely" distributed throughout Settegast. As of 2008, much of the area remained undeveloped, and guinea hens and horses graze on the open fields. Many churches are located in the neighborhood; as of 2008, it had one church per 60 residents.Longoria, Rafael and Susan Rogers. "The Rurban Horseshoe ." Cite 73. The Rice Design Alliance, (Northern Hemisphere) Winter 2008. Pages 21. Retrieved on February 24, 2010.
Economy Union Pacific operates the Settegast Yard, an intermodal terminal."Houston, Texas (Settegast)." () Union Pacific. Retrieved on February 20, 2010.
Government and infrastructure Settegast is in Houston City Council District B.City of Houston, Council District Maps, District B." City of Houston. Retrieved on November 5, 2011.
Harris Health System (formerly Harris County Hospital District) operates the Settegast Health Center."Settegast Health Center ." Harris County Hospital District. Retrieved on February 20, 2010. The center opened on January 28, 1967."A Proud History of Caring for More Than 45 Years ." Harris County Hospital District. Retrieved on February 9, 2012. The designated public hospital is Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital in Northeast Houston. - See ZIP code 77028. See this map for relevant ZIP codes.
The county commissioner who represents Settegast is Rodney Ellis, Precinct One Commissioner, while Jerry Davis serves as Settegast's council member, District B. Settegast is also a Super Neighborhood and has merged with East Houston, Super Neighborhood #49.
Settegast is under Texas House 142, and is represented by Harold V. Dutton Jr., a native of Fifth Ward.
Sherman Eagleton is the constable for Settegast (Precinct 3).
Education The area is within the Houston Independent School District. Residents are zoned to Bennie Carl Elmore Elementary School,"Agenda Board of Education Meeting July 18, 2013." Houston Independent School District. Current Attendance Boundaries Attachment E-1 June 2013 (20 of 77). Retrieved on July 10, 2013. Archived from the original on June 10, 2013."Agenda Board of Education Meeting July 18, 2013." Houston Independent School District. Proposed Attendance Zones for the North Forest Transition Attachment E-1 (21 of 77). Retrieved on July 10, 2013. Archived from the original on June 10, 2013. Key Middle School,"Agenda Board of Education Meeting July 18, 2013." Houston Independent School District. Proposed Attendance Boundaries Attachment E-2 June 2013 (26 of 77). Retrieved on July 10, 2013. Archived from the original on June 10, 2013. and Kashmere High School."Agenda Board of Education Meeting July 18, 2013." Houston Independent School District. Proposed Attendance Boundaries Attachment E-3 June 2013 (31 of 77). Retrieved on July 10, 2013. Archived from the original on June 10, 2013.
Elmore Elementary School has 39 teachers with an average of four years' experience, and the school has all four performance index indicators with one distinction designator, "Top 25% Student Progress".
Key Middle School has 45 teachers with an average of three years' experience, and the school has three out of four performance index indicators with no distinction designators.
Kashmere High School has 39 teachers with an average of nine years' service, and the school has two out of four performance index indicators with no distinction designators.
History of education Prior to July 1, 2013,Barajas, Erik. "North Forest ISD officially closes today." KTRK-TV. July 1, 2013. Retrieved on July 1, 2013. the North Forest Independent School District (originally Northeast Houston Independent School District) served the community.
When Northeast Houston ISD was segregated, Settegast had its own high school. A grade 1-8 school called Settegast High School opened in 1951 to serve black students. It had a student body of 300. B.C. Elmore High School opened in 1957."The History of B.C. Elmore ." B.C. Elmore Middle School. Retrieved on December 13, 2016. After Elmore High's opening, Settegast School and Hilliard School served as the community grade schools.Volumes 1-2 of "Public hearing at San Antonio, Texas, September 12, 1966 [and at 3 other cities in Texas, through Oct. 13-14, 1966]." Texas Finance Commission Consumer Credit Study Committee. p. 25. (See Google Search page text) - "The children of Settegast attend schools in their immediate vicinity. B. C. Elmore is the Senior High School, while the lower grades attend Hilliard School and Settegast School." Elmore High was converted into a junior high school on when Forest Brook High School opened in 1972. The building was razed and replaced with a new middle school structure in 1999.
The new Elmore Middle School building opened in 2000."Chapter 5 FACILITIES USE AND MANAGEMENT NORTH FOREST INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT." (Archive) Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Retrieved on November 21, 2011. The 40 classroom, facility had a multi-million dollar cost."The History of B.C. Elmore." (Archive) B.C. Elmore Middle School. Retrieved on November 14, 2011.
, as an NFISD territory, Settegast was zoned to Hilliard Elementary School, B. C. Elmore Middle School, and North Forest High School."Settegast." () Houston HOPE. Retrieved on February 25, 2010. "North Forest ISD Hilliard Elementary offers an Accelerated Reading program, and the 21st Century Mayor’s After School Program. B.C Elmore Middle School has a summer enrichment program for students who want to get a head start on the next school year. North Forest High School offers after-school tutorials for students." The Elmore campus joined HISD and was converted into an elementary school during the merger of North Forest ISD into HISD on July 1, 2013."Principals selected, changes proposed for North Forest schools." (Archive) Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on June 14, 2013.
Parks and recreation The City of Houston operates the Settegast Park."Our Parks O-Z." City of Houston. Retrieved on February 25, 2010. The Northeast Family YMCA serves residents of Settegast.McTaggart, Brian. "Fernandez fails to bolster status with Astros." Houston Chronicle. April 3, 2004. Retrieved on July 17, 2013. "The Northeast Family YMCA was built in 1960 and services 370 households from the neighborhoods of the Fifth Ward, Scenic Woods, Fontaine, Settegast, Lakewood, Wood Glen, Shady Timbers and Riverwood." The former Lakewood Church is in the northeast portion of Settegast. It was established in a converted feed store. On July 16, 2005, the church moved into the former Houston Summit.Hlavaty, Craig. "8 years ago today: Lakewood Church moves into Compaq Center." Houston Chronicle. July 16, 2013. Retrieved on July 17, 2013.
Environmental violations