Town file
Humble, Texas
Humble, Texas (Harris County, Texas) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 163, "Teenage Killer Lesbian Vampire Werewolves From Space" (19 March 2020). In September 1964 Marianne Allen was born in Houston, Texas, and grew up there in a stable family.
- Town
- Humble
- County
- Harris County
- State
- Texas
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 163
- Approximate location
- 29.988, -95.264
Episode 163 / 19 March 2020 / 153 min / full
Teenage Killer Lesbian Vampire Werewolves From Space
"This is southeastern Texas, 20 minutes outside of Houston; here it's in Harris County, which is where Houston is too, 10 square miles." about 0:07:04
The case: Murder of Marianne Murphy (July 2012). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2020
- Population
- 15,736
- Median age
- 33
- Median household income
- just under $39,000
- Median home value
- $162,500
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $1,100
- Cost of living
- about 94
- Religious
- over 60%
- Property crime
- ▲ almost three times
- Violent crime
- ▲ twice
History, in brief
- The first settlers came in about 1828, and a man named Joseph Dunman built a ferry across the river, which turned the spot into a centre of commercial activity. about 0:07:36
- The town took its name from one of the original founders, Pleasant Smith Humble, who went by the nickname Plez. about 0:07:52
- Pleasant Humble opened the first post office in his own home. about 0:08:39
- He was later a justice of the peace, ran a fruit stand, dealt wood and ended up as an attorney. about 0:09:00
- In 1876 the town was a flag station on a railroad known as the rabbit, because passengers would shoot rabbits from the train on the way from Houston to Shreveport. about 0:09:32
- In 1880 the population was 60: ten white people and 50 black people, rare for the time, and the black residents ran the lumber mill. about 0:10:13
- A man named Charles Bender bought the town site and established a commissary that paid the workers in scrip. about 0:10:44
- By 1887 there were hotels, general stores and a working saw mill, but the church did not open until 1896. about 0:11:00
- Oil was found in 1900, and in 1904 C. E. Barrett drilled and got a small claim on Moonshine Hill. about 0:11:22
- The first tank car of oil was shipped out of Humble in 1904. about 0:12:03
- By 1905 the Humble oil field was the biggest producing field in Texas. about 0:12:10
- Humble was the home of the Humble Oil and Refining Company, the predecessor to Exxon. about 0:12:56
- When the oil boom receded the town went back to farming, dairy farming and some timber. about 0:13:08
- The town stayed small and quiet until 1969, when Houston Intercontinental Airport opened nearby and made it a desirable suburb. about 0:13:16
- Humble is about 20 minutes outside Houston, covers 10 square miles and its motto is 'where people make a difference'. about 0:07:04
The reviews read out
2 stars
"Humble is a small town where everything is convenient, but the police are a bit harsh and busy, and you do not hear a lot about crime there."about 0:13:52
2 stars
"There need to be changes made."about 0:14:17
2 stars
"The houses all look alike and are very close together, and they are overpriced."about 0:14:29
3 stars
"Humble is not the safest area but not the worst to be, and the school district has its ups and downs just like its community."about 0:14:46
1 star
"The traffic lights and cameras are set for entrapment: the light turns yellow and red before you get through the intersection and a ticket arrives in the mail."about 0:15:28
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Atascocita, Texas4.2 miles
- Nassau Bay, Texas32 miles
- Magnolia, Texas33 miles
- Lake Charles, Louisiana124 miles
- Iowa, Louisiana136 miles
- Axtell, Texas153 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.