Welcome to Region 4’s Blog: 14 Facts about Region 4

Region 4 has a population of 6,492 187 inhabitants and a land extension of 8,685 Sq M. It serves an eight-county area comprised of 48 public school districts and 41 open-enrollment charter schools, representing more than 1.2 million students, 165,000 educators, and 1,500 campuses. Interesting Facts about Region 4.

1. Houston hosts the National Museum of Funeral History. It covers embalming, funerals of presidents and popes, mourning in the 1800s, and more.

2. The city has an underground pedestrian tunnel system. Stretching 6 miles, these tunnels located 20 feet under the ground connect 95 city blocks.

3. The Space Station’s phone uses a Houston area code. The area code is 281, so the ISS is an honorary resident of Houston.

4. You can “burp” the Buffalo Bayou. Pushing the red button on the Preston Street Bridge causes the bayou to bubble for several seconds.

5. Houston is as big as NYC, Boston, and SF combined. At 599.6 square miles, Houston is the ninth-largest US city by area. It has 2.3 million residents.

6. Only NYC has a larger US theater district than Houston. Houston’s Theater District has eight theaters covering 17 blocks and can accommodate 12,000 people.

7. The Houston Metro Area features more than 150 museums. History, art, or wacky things–whatever you like, Houston has the proper museum for you.

8. One of the most expansive freeways in the world goes through Houston. Some stretches of the I-10 feature 26 lanes, making it one of the most expansive highways in the world.

9. Galveston houses the oldest medical college in Texas. The oldest medical college in Texas opened in Galveston in 1891, followed by the first nursing school in 1894. Today, that college is recognized as the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB).

10. Before the Great Storm of 1900, Galveston was the second most prosperous city in the US. The only wealthier country before the storm was Newport, Rhode Island. It is remarkable how one natural disaster greatly affected the city’s wealth.

11. Galveston just so happened to be the first city in Texas to have light. It was the first city in Texas to have lights powered by gas in 1856 and the first to have electrical lights later in 1883. Who would have thought that Galveston would be the city to receive light first in Texas?

12. You can see the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, which is a denomination of the Swaminarayan branch of Hinduism. It consists of an 11,500-square-foot, 73-foot-tall open-air temple. The mandir is the largest in Texas and was constructed according to guidelines outlined in ancient Hindu scriptures. The grounds are spread over 22 acres and include a haveli, the Understanding Hinduism exhibition, and the mandir.

13. The Big Thicket National Preserve (BTNP) was established in 1974 and is recognized as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO. Although the diversity of animals in the area is high for a temperate zone with over 500 vertebrates, the complex mosaic of ecosystems and plant diversity is particularly remarkable. Biologists have identified at least eight and up to eleven ecosystems in the Big Thicket area. More than 160 species of trees and shrubs, 800 herbs and vines, and 340 types of grasses are known to occur in the Big Thicket, and estimates as high as over 1000 flowering plant species and 200 trees and shrubs have been made, plus ferns, carnivorous plants, and more. The Big Thicket has historically been the densest forest region in Texas.

14. Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge was formed in 1963 and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the NWR currently has over 34,000 acres devoted to providing habitat for native fish and wildlife. Grazing, farming, prescribed burning, and shoreline stabilization are management tools for this vast area. Public access to the Refuge allows fishing, hunting, birding, and wildlife watching. The Friends of the Anahuac NWR provide services at a Visitor Information Center inside the Refuge entrance near the only restroom facilities available. The Friends offer various educational opportunities for the public, from school class trips to Yellow Rail Walks. Regional historical figure who Advocated for Public Education: As a strong advocate for school nurses, Belle Blackwell became the Director of Nurses in Houston Public Schools from 1945 until 1958. Her contributions broadened the school health program and the health of Texas schoolchildren. Belle Blackwell wrote and produced “Health in the Classroom,” the first sound motion picture developed for school health. It guided school nurses in Houston Public Schools and other continuing education venues. Region IV continues to honor Belle Blackwell for her dedication to school health by holding an annual continuing education conference in her name.

Your Regional Director,
Luis Romero