Prior to the city’s incorporation, German farmers settled the area and built sawmills to process local lumber. A 1936 county highway map states that the area had scattered residences near one of its sawmills.  In the mid-1950s, effort to form a Spring Branch municipality failed.  The city incorporated in December 1954 with a mayor-council government.  Because of the 1954 incorporation, Houston did not incorporate Bunker Hill Village’s territory into its city limits, while Houston annexed surrounding areas that were unincorporated.