In the Katy area, which is generally defined by the boundaries of Katy ISD, a zip code defines a specific geographical area of Katy. If you live in the city of Katy, your zip code is most likely 77493 if you live south of Highway 90, your zip code is 77494. But you can have those zip codes and not live in the city of Katy. Your zip code can be 77449, 77450 or 77084 and have a Katy address, but you can also have a Katy address and live in Cy-Fair ISD. Confusing?

Codes 77449 and 77450 used to be within the Katy city limits. As the area grew and more homes were built between the city and Houston, it was necessary to give the city new codes. That kind of change is always an inconvenience, but it may happen again one day.

The earliest mail the Katy Heritage Society has from the Katy area has no zip codes. When the first Katy post office opened in 1896, mail simply arrived by train at the depot and was delivered to the post office, and residents would go there to pick it up. Early farm families, with no telephones or radios, counted on mail for all communication. A trip to the post office could require quite a bit of time so some folks might go for days, weeks or even months until a trip into town could be coupled with other errands. Once they got there, the post office was also a place for socializing. Folks would linger and visit with neighbors and the postmaster to catch up on local news.  

After 1943, areas that had larger populations began using a one or two digit number following the city name. This was instituted during WWII because so many postal clerks had gone into the

Social correspondence began to be eclipsed by a massive amount of business mail. Business that had not really existed on a large scale —like bills, banking, advertising, magazines, insurance, credit cards, mortgages—began being conducted mainly by mail. By this time the principle method of distribution had moved from trains to planes and trucks. As more mail was generated, the need to find a way to expedite it became a necessity. A five digit postal code made it possible to bypass as many as six steps in mail handling, and in 1963 a Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP), code system was enacted by congress.

This worked well until 1983, when so much mail made it necessary to expand the system and add an additional four digits. While mail used to be simply addressed with a name and a town, it now requires a name, a specific address, city, state and an 11-digit sorting number. Interestingly enough, the use of ZIP codes is not mandatory. But if you choose not to use them, your mail will certainly be delayed and may never reach the intended destination.

Whether you live in ZIP code 77494, 493, 491, 450, 449, 084 or 094, you may call Katy home. The system surely is efficient, but the idea of coming to town to get your mail and staying to visit with neighbors over a game of checkers and cup of coffee sounds pretty appealing.