The Woodlands

The Woodlands is a community west of Interstate Highway 45 and eleven miles south of Conroe in southern Montgomery County. In 1972 the Mitchell Energy and Development Corporation, as a response to the growth of nearby Houston, began to build, on 23,000 acres, a planned community called The Woodlands. The first homes were ready for purchase in 1974, and by 1980 the community had a population of 11,197, six schools, six parks, five churches, and a public library. About 160 companies had opened offices there by 1981. In 1990 The Woodlands numbered 29,205 inhabitants. The population reached 55,649 in 2000.