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Kingwood is a 14,000-acre (57 km²) master-planned community located in northeast Houston, Texas.^[1] The majority of the community is located in Harris County with a small portion in Montgomery County. Known as the "Livable Forest," it is the largest master-planned community in Harris County and second-largest within the 10-county Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area.

Kingwood, founded in 1969, is being developed on Lake Houston by the Friendswood Development Company, headed up by John Bruton Jr. The name is derived from the King Ranch, which at one point owned the land, as well as from the Friendswood Development Company.^[2]

Contents 1 Neighborhoods 2 Education 2.1 Primary and secondary schools 2.2 Colleges and universities 2.3 Public libraries 3 Services 3.1 Police 3.2 Fire 4 Community Events 5 Politics and Representation 6 Amenities 7 Trivia 8 References 9 See also 10 External links

Kingwood is divided into 28 neighborhoods, called "villages." Most villages have a neighborhood pool providing free access for village residents, and most provide their own set of village-specific services.

Trailwood is Kingwood's oldest subdivision, with its first homes being completed in 1971; while new homes are still being built in Barrington, Kingwood Greens, Kings River, Kings Point, and Royal Shores.

Several other subdivisions and developments have developed around the Kingwood area, though they are not actually part of Kingwood. Some of these subdivisions are Forest Cove, which was first built in 1963, Deer Ridge Estates, North Kingwood Forest, Kings Lake Estates, Lakewood Cove and Woodspring Forest. Nearby developments include Oakhurst at Kingwood and King's Manor. Oakhurst does not pay Kingwood Service Association fees, though it is considered part of Kingwood and is also developed by Friendswood Development.

Kingwood pupils residing in Harris County attend the Humble Independent School District. Kingwood High School and Kingwood Park High School serve the area. All students enrolled in Humble Independent School District also have the option to attend Quest High School, a magnet high school in Atascocita.

Students residing in Montgomery County attend the New Caney Independent School District.^[3] A small portion of North Woodland Hills, as well as the Kings Manor and Oakhurst developments, are located in Montgomery County.

Kingwood is served by three Humble ISD middle schools: Kingwood Middle School, Creekwood Middle School and Riverwood Middle School. Kingwood Middle School students are zoned to Kingwood Park High School, while students attending Creekwood and Riverwood are zoned to Kingwood High School.

In addition to the high schools and middle schools, Kingwood is served by nine Humble ISD elementary schools.

Kingwood College is two-year community college that serves the area and it is part of the North Harris/Montgomery Community College District. For more information see, KingwoodCollege.com.

Dedicated on August 12th, 1983, the 12,000 square-foot Kingwood Branch of the Harris County Public Library, has over 112,000 books.^[4] In partnership with the Houston Public Library, the branch is slated to become a "City-County" branch in exchange for 4.2 million dollars to fund the building of a new 35,000 square-foot facility. At the time of its completion, the existing branch will be converted into a community center.^[5] In addition to the Kingwood Library, and within Kingwood, there is also the Kingwood Community College library, which permits access for "currently enrolled students, high school students and adults living within the district, patrons of Montgomery County Memorial Library System, and college employees."^[6]

Police, fire and ambulance services are provided by the City of Houston.

The Houston public works department is responsible for the maintenance and construction of roads in Kingwood, but are not responsible for the greenbelt trails that run throughout the community.

The greenbelt trails' maintenance is the responsibility of the trail association in each village with exception to Trailwood Village. Over 75 miles of greenbelts comb the area.

METRO operates a single Park and Ride location in Kingwood to provide commuters with an alternative to driving themselves downtown.

The Kingwood Chamber of Commerce serves local businesses and the community with regular activities such as Kleenwood.

The Houston Police Department and Harris County Constable Precinct Four provides law enforcement services to Kingwood. Precinct Four

The Kingwood Patrol Station is located at 3915 Rustic Woods (Kingwood, Texas address) [1].

Minors under the age of 15 are subject to a Houston mandated curfew after 10:00PM Sunday through Thursday, or 11:00PM on Friday and Saturday (baring few minor exceptions.)^[7] This curfew extends to fill the time between 9AM until 2:30PM on days when school is in session.^[7] John Cannon, a spokesman for the HPD claims, "the curfew is to ensure that kids are in school getting an education."^[8]

Kingwood lies in Houston Fire District 102 operated by the Houston Fire Department.^[9] There are four stations located within Kingwood: Station 101, Station 102, Station 103 and Station 104. A fifth station, Station 105, which will be located outside of Kingwood but still in the same fire district, scheduled to open late 2007 or early 2008.^[9][10]

Kingwood residents enjoy a number of community events throughout the year, including:

• Mardi Gras
  • When: February
  • Where: Town Center Park.
  • Parade, and vendor fair with open air concert.
• Picnic on the Park
  • When: Day before Easter
  • Where: Town Center Park
  • Easter Egg hunt open to children of all age. The event also offers game booths, a vendor fair, and performances by local area groups.
• Auto Shows
  • When: Spring and Fall, often April and October respectively.
  • Where: Town Center Park.
  • Typically draws up to 200 vehicles in a wide variety of categories. The Spring Car Show is held in April and the Fall show is typically held in October.
• Fourth of July
  • When: July 04
  • Where: Parade, between Creekwood Middle School, and Kingwood High School; festivities, Town Center Park.
  • Consisting of a parade; and, firework display, with open air concert, and vendor fair.
• Christmas in the Park
  • When: December
  • Where: Town Center Park
  • Vendor fair, and live performances from local groups. Day ends with a tree lighting ceremony in the park.

Originally an unincorporated area, the section of Kingwood in Harris County was annexed by the City of Houston in 1996 despite vehement protest by the community. The contested annexation was appealed to the Texas Supreme Court and led to the passage of Texas Senate Bill 89 in 1999, which curbed city annexation rights.

Kingwood residents vote mostly Republican, and all representatives of Kingwood on local and state levels are Republican.

• The state representative, representing district 127, is Joe Crabb.^{[citation needed]}
• The congressional representative, representing Texas's 2nd congressional district, is Ted Poe, who won by 55% in 2004.^[11]
• Kingwood is in Texas Senate District 4, represented by Tommy Williams.^[12]
• Kingwood is represented on the Houston City Council by Addie Wiseman.^[13]
• The majority of Kingwood lies in Harris County Precinct 4 (PCT4). PCT4's commissioner is Jerry Eversole; and the constable, Ron Hickman.^[14] Other elected officials for Precinct 4 can be found at, Harris County PCT4.

• The newest addition to Kingwood's park facilities is a 2.25 acre public dog park.^[15] More information on this new dog park can be found at Kingwood Kennels.
• Kingwood Park, operated by the City of Houston. ^[16]
• Opened in May 21, 2004, Kingwood Skate Park is a 5402 square-foot facility that has "mini half pipe with 90' hip, skate benches, a kinked round grind rail, a kicker ramp, skate tables, a bank to stair with rail, shade structures with benches, drinking fountain and a bike rack in the shape of a skateboarder."^[17][16]

• Kingwood was once home to former boxing heavyweight champion George Foreman.^[18][19]
• Kingwood is home to pro baseball player and coach Phil Garner. ^[20][21]
• Kingwood was once home to porn star Syvette Wimberly (birth name Laura Madden).^[22][23][24]
• Administaff, the nation's leading Professional Employer Organization (PEO), has their corporate headquarters in Kingwood. ^[25]
• Tin Cup, a 1996 film starring Kevin Costner, was filmed on location at Kingwood Country Club and the Deerwood Club.^[26]
• In 1999, four female Kingwood High School students were arrested after holding up five local businesses at gunpoint.^[27] The girls, who may have robbed the stores to finance a recreational drug habit, were convicted of armed robbery. This may have inspired the basis for the film Sugar & Spice.^[28]
• MTV's The Real World: Hawaii contestant Justin Deabler was from Kingwood.

• Kingwood Chamber of Commerce
• Kingwood Civic Club
• Official Kingwood Website

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