Biohazard Cleanup Near Soaring Pines Humble, TX

Humble sits 18 miles northeast of Houston in Harris County, and locals pronounce its name 'UM-bel' - without the H.

The town is named for Pleasant Smith Humble, who operated a ferry on the San Jacinto River and opened the area's first post office in his home; the first settler, Joseph Dunman, had arrived in 1828.

Oil changed everything in Humble: after oil was discovered in 1904, the No. 2 Beaty well came in on January 7, 1905 at 8,500 barrels a day, and by 1905 the Humble field was the largest producing oil field in Texas.

Humble exploded from roughly 700 people to somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 residents during the oil boom.

Ross S. Sterling founded the Humble Oil and Refining Company, a predecessor of Exxon, in Humble in 1911; he later served as governor of Texas from 1931 to 1933.

Humble was incorporated in 1933, adopting its charter on August 28 of that year.

The 2020 Census counted 16,795 people in Humble, up from 15,133 in 2010.

Humble has about 6,000 households averaging 2.72 people each.

The city covers about 9.9 square miles.

Humble is served by the Humble Independent School District, whose schools include Humble High School and Ross Sterling Middle School.