Hedwig Village derived from land grants given to John Taylor, Isaac Bunker, and A.H. Osborne for their service during the Texas War of Independence from Mexico. Over the years, they sold parts of their land to various owners. Many of the early settlers were from Germany; some of the streets are named after those early settlers. They were farmers and some raised livestock. Since the area was heavily wooded, there were also sawmills and lumberyards in the area.

NAMED IN HONOR OF HEDWIG SCHROEDER

Hedwig Village, and Hedwig Park, is named for Hedwig Schroeder (nee Jankowski). Her family arrived from Germany in 1906 when she was 19 years old. She joined her sister, who had a hotel located at Preston and Franklin in downtown Houston. She met her future husband, Henry, who was 44 years her senior. Henry was the son of Jacob and Dorothea Schroeder. The historical markers, located at the southwest corner of Gaylord and Piney Point, tell the story of Jacob and Dorothea Schroeder. Ira Corbin donated land to the City to be converted into the City Park. The City later purchased additional land from the Corbin family to increase the size of the park.

POLICE DEPARTMENT

Before the City was incorporated, the Harris County Sheriff's Office patrolled the Memorial Area. In 1954, the City appointed two people as co-Marshals. In 1956, another Marshal was appointed to replace the original two. The department also had one paid officer and several volunteers who patrolled in the in their own vehicles. In 1958, the City abolish the office of Marshal and appointed a Police Chief and patrol were continued using volunteers. Sometime in mid- to late-1959, the Memorial Villages created a consolidated police department. The land located at 9000 Gaylord was purchased and construction of a police station was completed at the site. The cost of the land and the construction was shared among the Villages. In late 1976, City Council approved of Hedwig Village leaving the consolidated police department to form the Hedwig Village Police Department. Hedwig Village paid the other Villages $127,950 for the property and building at 9000 Gaylord in return for the deed. IN January 1977, the Hedwig Village Police Department was formed. One officer, Corporal Michael Rivers, was killed in the line of duty on November 2, 1980 while in pursuit of a suspect.

FIRE DEPARTMENT

The Village Fire Department was formed by inter-local agreement between the six Villages on December 20,1978. The Villages fund the department budget, ensuring fire protection and emergency services are handled in a timely and caring manner.

SPRING BRANCH-MEMORIAL LIBRARY

The Spring Branch-Memorial Library was first housed in an empty classroom at St. Francis Episcopal Church on Piney Point and was open nine hours per week. In 1959, the library to a small cottage where the Edith Spang Reading Garden, located on the east side of the current library. The Reading Garden is named for Mrs. Edith Spang, the first person in charge of the new location and former Hedwig Village resident. During Mrs. Spang's years of service, the library increased its collection and patrons. In 1975, a new library was constructed with the support of Harris County Commissioners Court, Hedwig Village City Council, and many residents. In 1963, the Friends of the Spring Branch-Memorial Library was founded to advocate for the library. The group conducts fundraising to off-set the cost of library programs, services, and acquisitions of books. They also raise awareness of the library in the community, sort donated books, maintain the used books for sale in the library lobby, and care for the plants on the library campus. The library is part of the Harris County Public Library system.

Memorial Drive was a narrow road that followed the borders of the farms that lined the road. Highway 90, also known as Katy Road, was there before Interstate 10. Piney Point Road had been put in around the 1900 to 1905 time frame, first as a dirt road, then oyster shell. There were some small businesses that lined the stretch of where Interstate 10, Campbell and Voss Road currently exist.

Up until the mid to late 30s, many people got around by horseback due to the lack of paved roads. On Echo Lane, across the street from the present location of Memorial High School, there was a chicken farm where the owner sold eggs. People would ride their horses on Piney Point Road to Taylorcrest and over to where Memorial City Mall is now located to pick berries.  When the original people who founded the villages met in the early 50s, the main roads that provide the current boundaries of the Villages already existed.  

The Spring Branch School District began in 1856 with the Spring Branch School Society sponsored by St. Peter’s Church. In 1900, there were 50 students in the white school and twenty students in the local black school. In the early 1900s, there was a school house at the corner of Campbell and Long Point. Until the 1948/49 school year, Spring Branch School District had only nine grades, requiring the students to transfer to Addicks, Lamar or Cypress Fairbanks, where they had the nickname of “the country kids from Voss Road.” In early 1952/53, the high school was opened until it closed in 1985. The school district had 440 students in 1944 and 14,000 by 1960.  Memorial High School was opened in 1962 to relieve overcrowding at Spring Branch High School.