Klein, Texas

Klein is anunincorporated community inHarris County,Texas, United States, roughly borderingTexas State Highway 99 to the north,Texas State Highway 249 to the west,Interstate 45 to the east, and the city ofHouston to the south. It includes the entire area of Klein ISD. Residents of the zip codes 77066, 77069, 77086, 77379, 77388, 77389 and 77391 can use Klein as their postal city.^[1] Klein is one of the most diverse, as well as being one of the largest unincorporated areas of Houston.

Klein, Texas
Unincorporated community
Klein Post Office
Klein Show map of Texas Klein Show map of the United States
Coordinates:30°02′46″N95°32′09″W / 30.04615°N 95.53591°W /30.04615; -95.53591
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Harris
Elevation	140 ft (40 m)
Population	200,805
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area codes	713, 281, 832, 346, 621

It is named after Adam Klein, aGerman immigrant whose best-known great-great-grandson is singerLyle Lovett. Other famous sons and daughters of the Klein community include actorJim Parsons, actorLee Pace, actorMatthew Bomer, actressLynn Collins, actressSherry Stringfield, singer/songwriterDerek Webb, actorBen Rappaport, Major League Baseball playersDavid Murphy andJosh Barfield, NFL playersRandy Bullock,Ashton Youboty,Mike Green, and Olympic gold medalistsLaura Wilkinson,Simone Biles, andChad Hedrick.^[2]

Klein is served byDavid Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport, one of just a few privately owned airports in the U.S. to have aFederal Aviation Administration control tower, and home toCivil Air Patrol's Delta Composite Squadron.

Geography

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Klein has aHumid subtropical climate with a 9aHardiness zone. The area is susceptible to hurricanes and flooding.

The area serves as a fringe ecocline boundary between thePiney Woods, southern post oak savanna, and prairie land as an extension of theWestern Gulf coastal grasslands.

Much of the original ecosystem had been cleared for farming. Since then, the community has been rapidly built up by subdivisions, businesses, and mixed land use — and thus very little of the area represents its native ecosystem.

Most of the core Klein area sits between Spring Creek to the north, separating Tomball to the northwest by Willow Creek, and Cypress Creek is the waterway that passes through the center of the greater Klein area. Both these creeks are tributaries to lowerSpring Creek (Harris County, Texas) and ultimatelyLake Houston.

Parcels along Cypress Creek contain a mix of older undisturbed bottomland forest, private residence, and well-maintained bike trails through public parks.

Prairie-like stretches of oak (Quercus virginiana) and various hardwoods, draped inSpanish moss, are present in and around the Raveneaux Country Club,Klein High School, as well as in public spaces such as Meyer Park.

The Klein Kissing Tree is in Klein. In April 2020 theTexas A&M Forest Service designated it as one of several historic "kissing trees" in the state.^[3]

Flora

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A well-preserved oxbow lake habitat can be found in the Ponderosa Walking Park. Dwarf palmettoSabal minor and southern magnoliaMagnolia grandiflora trees are found in the understory and near the edges of bodies of water and swamps, as well as bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), water oak (Quercus nigra), and black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) all being present.

Fauna

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Reptiles from common species like theRed-ear slider turtle, and green anole (Anolis carolinensis),American green tree frog, to more precarious species such as the venomous Texas coral snakeMicrurus tener, and theAmerican alligator.

Government and infrastructure

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Local government

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Harris County ESD 16 dba "Klein Fire Department", headquartered at 16810 Squyres Road and operates with eight stations, serves areas considered to be Klein.^[4] KFD stations in areas with Klein postal addresses. Klein FD is funded by Harris County ESD 16.

Harris County ESD 16 "Klein Fire Department" is governed by 5 elected commissioners.

Klein FD is operated under a Fire Chief, 2 Deputy Fire Chiefs, 6 District Chiefs and 1 Safety Officer.

Klein FD station locations.

Station 31 at 18337 Stuebner-Airline Rd. - Engine 31, Tanker 30, Air 30, Foam 30

Station 32 at Gladebrook and West FM 1960. - Engine 32

Station 33 at 9755 Landry Blvd. - Engine 33, HUT 33, Training Engine 301

Station 34 at 16810 Squyres Rd. - Engine 34, Tower 34, Air 30, District 30

Station 35 at Boudreaux near Miramar Lake Blvd. - Engine 35, Rehab 35

Station 36 at N. Eldridge Parkway at Northpointe Blvd. - Engine 36, Tower 36, Booster 36

Station 37 at 5518 Winding Ridge Dr. - Engine 37, Tower 37, Utility 37, Rescue Boat 37

Station 38 at 6900 Crescent Clover Dr. - Engine 38, Booster 38, UTV 38^[5]^[6]

County, state, and federal representation

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Klein is now located within Harris County Precinct 3 after redistricting following the 2020 Census. As of October 28, 2021, Tom S. Ramsey is the Precinct 3 County Commissioner.

The community is served by theHarris County Sheriff's Office District I Patrol,^[7] headquartered from the Cypresswood Substation at 6831 Cypresswood Drive.^[8]

TheHarris Health System (formerly Harris County Hospital District) designated theAcres Homes Health Center for the ZIP code 77379. The designated public hospital isLyndon B. Johnson Hospital in northeast Houston.^[9]

As of redistricting in 2023, Klein is split between two U.S. Congressional districts, the2nd and the38th. The community is located within the7th Senate district and the126th and the150th House of Representatives districts in the Texas Legislature. TheUnited States Postal Service operates the Klein Post Office at 7717 Louetta Road.^[10]

Education

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Klein ISD Annex

The Klein community is primarily served by theKlein Independent School District. However a few minuscule portions of Klein are served by theSpring ISD and theCypress-Fairbanks ISD.

The Klein ISD area joined the North Harris Montgomery Community College District (nowLone Star College) in 1998.^[11] TheTexas Legislature designated Klein ISD a part of the Lone Star College district.^[12]

Demographics

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The 2016 estimate for the Klein area was 200,805 people. The racial makeup of the town was 46.3 percent White, 32.4 percent Black, 0.6 percent Native American, 14.8 percent Asian, 0.1 percent Pacific Islander, 5.8 percent from other races. Persons of Hispanic origin, regardless of race, accounted for 28.9 percent of the population. About 21.7% of families live below thepoverty line.

Black Americans have been well represented in theKohrville community dating back since theReconstruction era. Kohrville school served the area up until 1928, when students were consolidated into Rural High School District Number One, which eventually becameKlein High School.

Parks and recreation

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Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner operates the 7-acre (28,000 m²) Klein Park. The park has four lighted athletic ball fields and toilet facilities.^[13]

Meyer Park, a 40-acre park, which straddles Cypresswood Road has 38 multiple-sized soccer fields for different age groups. The park also has four baseball fields, a playground, a dog park, toilet facilities, and pavilions.