In the early 1830s, a Canadian shoe cobbler named Isaac Decker received a land grant from Mexico to settle a tract of land on Williams Creek east of the Colorado River in Travis County, which is now near present-day Austin. After a few years of repeated reported conflicts with Native Americans in the area, Decker and his family made their way southeast in 1834, where he had received a land grant from the Republic of Texas for 177 acres of prairie north of Spring Creek.
According to "Welcome to Tomball," a book authored by Tomball historian Lessie Upchurch, the land Decker settled is now known as Decker Prairie, which is a few miles outside of Tomball west of Hwy. 249 and about 30 miles northwest of Houston.
An official granite historical marker that recognizes Decker can be found at Decker Prairie Cemetery. The cemetery is also home to a number of trees that are more than 100 years old and believed to be planted by Decker himself, Upchurch said.
Upchurch said Decker's settling of the area was the beginning of Tomball and credits him, along with one other family, as one of the earliest settlers of Tomball.
"Without Isaac Decker, there would be no Tomball," Upchurch said. "He settled the area but he also began a town that has since grown and flourished thanks to his early efforts. What does the name Tomball reflect? It means good people and good business and a long chapter of Texas history."
The area settled by Decker was mostly known for farming. It was also home to a Confederate powder mill in the 1860s until the mill was destroyed by an explosion, according to records from the Texas State Historical Association.
Decker, who was born Oct. 6, 1795 in Canada, worked as a tanner and shoe cobbler and lived in a two-story house on the Frank Pfeiffer property at West Montgomery Road, which is now 32941 Wright Road.
"Walnut trees bordered the lane to the home," Upchurch said. "The huge, spreading oak, which stands at this address is over 100 years old and supposedly was planted by Isaac Decker."
According to Upchurch, Decker married four separate times and had a total of 22 children. Six of the children were sets of twins; four died as infants.
Though Decker was too old to fight in the Civil War, he contributed to the war effort by making saddles and harnesses, which were dyed red with red oak leaves. He also made shoes for the Confederate troops, Upchurch said. Decker died at the age of 86 in 1879. The exact date of his death is unknown, she said.
Today, Decker Prairie is a part of the Greater Tomball area and is home to Decker Prairie Elementary, which is in Tomball ISD. In the early 1900s, a schoolhouse operated in Decker Prairie until the mid-20th century.
Upchurch said she has been interested in the history of the area for many years and has worked diligently to produce a comprehensive resource book to remind Tomball of the town's origins. She and her husband are working on a second book, which she describes as a shorter encyclopedia that will be compiled from photographs and research.
"We are working on another book about Tomball," Upchurch said. "Think of it as a history story that you spread out over your coffee table or kitchen table and piece together. Without Decker's influence, or his descendants, some of whom stayed in Tomball and I knew, it wouldn't be the place it is today. It's important to remember the history and Isaac Decker's story is an integral part of [that history]."
