Episode 77: Charlotte Marie Baldwin Allen
The time was July 14, 1805, the place Baldwinsville, Onondaga County, New York, Charlotte Marie Baldwin was born. Her parents were Eliza and Jonas Cutler Baldwin. Jonas was a doctor and a prominent citizen, he founded Baldwinsville where his family lived and Charlotte was born. when Charlotte was 22 years old both her parents passed away. Leaving Charlotte with a bit of inheritance. On May 3, 1831, she married Augustus Chapman Allen, who was just one year her senior. A year after, her husband and her brother-in-law John Kirby Allen moved to Texas. Charlotte joined them in 1834. With her inheritance, Charlotte in partnership with Augustus and John began investing in property and land and building a new town. Sam Houston suggested the town be named Charlottesville but Charlotte suggested the name Houston instead because it would attract more people. After the Republic of Texas was born, the Allens lobbied for Houston to become the capital and they won. In October 1836 John Allen told Congress that the Allens would build, with their own money, aka Charlotte’s money, a capitol and any other supplementary civic structures as a donation to the government. And that they would also build rental houses for government officials, and charge them the low low price of seventy-five dollars a month.
Charlotte was highly engaged in the family business, she registered her own cattle brand, negotiated real estate and development projects, and directed construction. She donated much of her property during her lifetime back to the City of Houston. She passed away when she was 90 years old, on August 3, 1895. Charlotte Baldwin Allen Elementary School was named in her honor in 1907; it was the first public school in Houston to be named after a woman. The Texas State Historical Association built a historical plaque at her grave site in 2009. Ten years later In 2019, a Hilton hotel in downtown Houston was renamed the C. Baldwin Hotel. The Hilton wanted to pay homage to the Mother of Houston and also to other pioneering women in Texas history.
Caryatid: Mary Beth Fisher
Mary Beth Fisher is the Vice President of Business Development & Marketing at Wycoff Development & Construction. She has years of experience in residential and commercial real estate sales and development. Like Charlotte, she is not originally from Houston, she was born in Florida and raised in Georgia. She graduated with a Bachelor's in Education from the University of West Georgia. Later on, she moved with her husband to Louisiana and she began working in real estate. And after Louisiana, they arrived in Houston in 2018. And today she is excelling in Wycoff Development. In her own words, her passion is working with people who help others grow in their careers as well as personal development. Building long-lasting relationships that help build the city of Houston and surrounding areas is her ultimate goal!
References
Charlotte Marie Baldwin Allen Historical Marker. 1 Feb. 2023, www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=122984.
De Luna, Marcy. “Swank, Woman-oriented C. Baldwin Hotel Debuts in Downtown Houston This Summer.” Chron, 10 Jan. 2019, www.chron.com/life/article/Swank-female-bent-C-Baldwin-hotel-debuts-in-13523592.php#photo-16752019.
“Downtown Hotel Honors the Respected ‘Mother of Houston.’” ABC13 Houston, 14 July 2020, abc13.com/charlotte-baldwin-allen-houston-hotel-launch/5048836.
Hernandez, Carlos. “Meet Charlotte Marie Baldwin Allen, the ‘Mother of Houston.’” KPRC, 14 July 2020, www.click2houston.com/houston-life/2020/03/10/houston-history-meet-charlotte-marie-baldwin-allen-the-mother-of-houston.
Hlavaty, Craig. “The History of Houston’s Rice Hotel.” Chron, 17 May 2018, www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/The-history-of-Houston-s-Rice-Hotel-10948103.php.
HoustonHistory.com | 178 Years of Historic Houston - Great Citizens - Augustus Chapman Allen. 02db39d.netsolhost.com/citizens/houstonians/history8a.htm.
Market Square Park | TCLF. 12 Mar. 2016, www.tclf.org/landscapes/market-square-park.
Texas Becomes a State. education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/texas-becomes-state.
The Heritage Society. “Happy Birthday Houston! - Charlotte Baldwin Allen, ‘Mother of Houston.’” YouTube, 28 Aug. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOHC9SfwStM.
TSHA | Allen, Augustus Chapman. www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/allen-augustus-chapman.
TSHA | Allen, Charlotte Marie Baldwin. www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/allen-charlotte-marie-baldwin.
TSHA | Holley, Mary Austin. www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/holley-mary-austin.
TSHA | Texas Revolution. www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/texas-revolution.
Wikipedia contributors. “Charlotte Baldwin Allen.” Wikipedia, Mar. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Baldwin_Allen.
---. “JPMorgan Chase Building (Houston).” Wikipedia, Sept. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPMorgan_Chase_Building_%28Houston%29.
