The city is named after Northern-born Union Cavalry officer and Houston lumberman Isaac Conroe.[7] Conroe founded a sawmill there in 1881.[7] The city originally gained in wealth due to the lumber and oil industries. Originally named “Conroe’s Switch”,[7] the area saw an influx of residents in the late 19th century due to the lumber demands on the piney wood forest of the area.[7]
In 1922, a black man named Joe Winters was burned at the stake on the courthouse steps.[8]
George W. Strake discovered the Conroe Oil Field in 1931. Distillate and natural gas were produced from the Cockfield Formation at a depth of about 5,000 feet (1,500 m). A second well in ……