Around half a decade before the locals within Houston stumbled onto oil in 1901 and rice/corn in 1912, the locals relied on lumber to stabilise the area’s economy until this time when it was replaced. Iron and Cotton industries were another popular choice for the economy and many goods from these products were also transported to other countries but this was soon halted for good. A great fire on 10th March 1859 completely destroyed these local business and even though most of the cities had to be re-built, this is not stop the locals pitching in and re-building what they had started before the disaster.
Even though this setback overall resulted in losing most of its industries and homes in Houston, it did have its benefits because throughout 1859, a number of fires were breaking out during the year and this was rectified in the first fire fighting team to tackle any blazes that broke out in the area and lessening any damage like the Great Fire caused. Just one year later, the fire team was so successful that three voluntary fire fighting teams soon followed to help with any fires in the region and with the constantly growing population, it was needed.