Having abandoned their attempts to purchase the burned town site of Harrisburg, the Allen's moved to a small community that had developed on high ground in a horseshoe curve of Buffalo Bayou about 1 mile below the junction of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou. From this community that was called Germantown because of the many Germans living there, the Allen brothers conceived the plan for a town named in honor the great Texian general Sam Houston and they negotiated the purchase of the land south of Buffalo Bayou around the junction of White Oak Bayou from Mrs. Elizabeth Parrott for $5,000.

As the town of Houston began to taken shape in the late 1830's and early 1840's, the community of Germantown continued to grow, too. Jonathan Frost purchased a large amount of the land in the area and brought his extended family to the area. The Frost family platted the area, established businesses and sold lots for home sites, and the community became known, then, as Frostown.

Frostown ultimately became a victim of the success of the City of Houston. The Houston & Texas Central Railroad built tracks through the center of Frostown in the 1870's, dividing the neighborhood. Industrial development moved to the east from downtown while the residential areas grew to the south and north of downtown. In the 1950's, the area of Frostown was bisected by the construction of Highway 59.

Today, no residences exist in Frostown. A couple of the old streets still remain, but most of the area is part of the complex of freeways and overpasses comprising Highway 59 and the Elysian Viaduct. Harris County has preserved the memory of Frostown in the creation of James Bute Park.

Frostown and James Bute Park lie on the south side of Buffalo Bayou at the McKee Street bridge. This bridge is about one mile downstream of Allen's Landing. Access to Buffalo Bayou is possible from Allen's Landing Park at the foot of Main Street.