Historic Katy
In the beginning it was only a wide open prairie, the hunting ground of the Karankawa Indian tribes, the winter feeding grounds of great herds of buffalo and large flocks of wild ducks, geese, sandhill and whooping cranes, and numerous other game birds, and home to longhorn cattle, deer, and wolves.

Earliest settlement of the community known as Cane Island, for Cane Island Creek that runs through it, was in 1872.

The townsite of Katy was laid out and platted by J. O. Thomas, L. C. Luckel, and R. M. Cash in 1895, supposedly named for the M-K-T Railroad that runs through it.

The City of Katy was formally incorporated in 1945.

Katy has always been a traditional family style community; however, it also played a major role as a rail hub, a rice farming and agricultural center, and one of the largest gas fields in this part of Texas.

Ancestral Homes of Katy were researched and historical markers erected by the local Texas Sesquicentennial Committee in 1986. The historical markers can be used as a guide for a walking or driving tour of more than a dozen historical homes and buildings in downtown Katy.

Katy Heritage Park, 5990 George Bush Drive, Restored historical buildings, the Wright Museum, Stockdick House, Tradition Bank Bandstand, Humble Mess Hall, Featherston House, old Post Office. Building are open for tours the first weekend of every month Saturday 10-4 and Sunday 1-4, free admission.

MKT Depot and Caboose, 5615 First Street. Train caboose and restored Katy Depot museum now operates as the City of Katy Visitors Center open from 9 to 3 Tuesday through Friday and from 10 to 2 on Saturday.

The Katy Heritage Society The Katy Heritage Society was established in 1979 by a group formed to save the old MKT Railroad Depot. With the help of the City, the Depot was acquired, moved and restored by the Heritage Society. The Caboose was later added to the site and restored. Other historical structures have been acquired, moved to Katy Heritage Park, and restored by the Society. Please contact the Katy Heritage Society at 281/391-2550, www.katyheritagesociety.com or katyheritage@aol.com for more information on these structures and on the History of Katy.