The Woodlands, Texas

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The Woodlands is a master-planned community and a census-designated place within the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area, located primarily in Montgomery County, approximately 32 miles north of Houston. As of the 2010 US Census, the population of the CDP was 93,847.

The Woodlands is situated on land that was previously occupied by the Grogan-Cochran Lumber Mill. It was originally concieved and dedicated by George P. Mitchell, an oil businessman, in 1974, and managed by The Woodlands Corporation as an extension of Mitchell Energy & Development. Mitchell's plan was to establish a community with a conference center, hotels, office parks, retail malls, schools, large distribution centers, and golf courses; residential housing would range from affordable to expensive and large.

Mitchell's original plan was for The Woodlands to ultimately be annexed by the city of Houston. By the turn of the century, however, some residents feared such an annexation, as had happened to the Kingwood development almost a decade before. To counteract any possible move by the city, a movement began to create an independent city government. but this would require authorization by the state of Texas and Houston (which held extraterritorial jurisdiction over the area). In 2007, two state legislators representing area voters created bills in the State Legislature that called for a vote to allow expansion of an existing improvement district (now The Woodlands Township) to authorize The Woodlands to collect sales tax, and to allow for the creation of regional agreements between governments; the passage of these bills allows an opportunity for The Woodlands to incorporate itself.

The Woodlands is organized into "villages" which are further subdivided into "neighborhoods."

●Village of Grogan's Mill (The Woodlands' first neighborhood)
●Grogans Point
●Town Center (a primarily commercial development also within the Village of Grogans Mill)
●Village of Panther Creek
●Village of Cochran's Crossing
●Village of Indian Springs
●Village of Alden Bridge
●Village of College Park ( location of Lone Star College and Sam Houston State University-The Woodlands Center.
●Village of Sterling Ridge (Includes the gated community of Carlton Woods, which initially existed as a village in its own right)
●Village of Creekside Park

Most of the students in the Montgomery County portion of The Woodlands attend classes in the Conroe Independent School District.