Tanglewood was born in the 1940s, approximately 100 years after the Republic of Texas Land Grant was made to Charles Sage in March, 1845. After almost 50 years, Tanglewood remains one of Houston’s most exclusive and desirable neighborhoods with a charming architectural mix of spacious updated California Ranch homes and magnificent recently-built Traditional, Mediterranean and Contemporary-style residences. The William G. Farrington Company purchased 300 acres west of the Houston City limits from Humble Pipeline Company, now Exxon. This initial property was located in the area that is now between San Felipe and Woodway and between Sage and Chimney Rock. By the late ’40s, an additional 450 acres north of Woodway had been acquired. Since the land was outside the city limits, a water district had to be formed.
Section 1 of Tanglewood, with its entrance from Post Oak Lane, consisted of 32 lots that were placed on the market in January, 1949; seven beautiful new homes were ready for the grand opening. The homes were built to take advantage of that newly popular Houston lifesaver – air conditioning. In fact, the new Tanglewood had the distinction of being the most air-conditioned subdivision in the Southwest. Since most of the land was open prairie, each home site was planted with two large oak trees plus three oaks added on every corner. As a result, Tanglewood is now one of Houston’s most beautiful wooded areas.
Tanglewood’s deed restrictions were rigidly enforced by the Tanglewood Homes Association. These included front and side line setbacks for every home. Prior to any construction, plans had to be approved by an architectural control committee.
The original ideals and restrictions of the developer are still carried out by the Tanglewood Homes Association. The association is financed by a mills tax per lot with proceeds used for back-door garbage pick up, police protection, and maintenance of esplanades and green areas.
In 1951, Tanglewood was recognized by the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, D.C. as one of the five best-planned neighborhood subdivisions in the United States.
In 1954, the Houston Country Club purchased 150 acres from Tanglewood and an additional 125 acres from the Bering family. In order to have enough land for a golf course, an additional 25 acres were also acquired.
There were 15 sections of Tanglewood developed from 1949 to 1959. Today, the completed subdivision consists of 1,052 homes in these 15 sections. Prices for building sites, with and without existing homes, approach and exceed $1 million; recently built homes range well into the multi-millions.
