Needville is a city in
Fort Bend County
Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days.
Th ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, United States. It is within the metropolitan area. The population was 3,089 at the 2020 census.
History
August Schendel founded the town of Schendelville in 1891 that contained his house, a store and a cotton gin. In 1894, he applied for a post office using the name "Needmore" as a joke, since they always needed more of everything. Due to
Needmore, Texas already existing, the post office amended the name to "Needville".
[Odintz, Mark. "Needville, TX." Handbook of Texas.](_blank)
Accessed April 18, 2018.
By 1898, Schendel had officially platted a town and begun selling lots. A school had been constructed in 1897. By 1903, Needville had a school for white children with one teacher and 97 pupils, and one school for black children with one teacher and 45 pupils. The Round Hall building had been built about 1910 for dances and other social activities, and remained in this service until the 1950s.
Needville had three general stores, two cotton gins, a movie theater, and a population of 100 in 1914. Telephone service arrived in 1916. In 1918, the Needville State Bank opened and the
Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway
The Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railway (B.B.B.C. or B.B.B. & C.), also called the Harrisburg Road or Harrisburg Railroad, was the first operating railroad in Texas. It completed its first segment of track between Harrisburg, Texas (now a ...
built a line through the town. In 1920, Needville reported having a population of 500. It also reported having 12 general stores, four churches, four gins, and an electric power generation plant.
From 1927 through 1931, the Fort Bend county fair was held in Needville. It was then discontinued because of the Great Depression, which caused the fair to run heavily into debt. Natural gas was piped into town in 1929. FM 36 was completed in 1932, allowing all-weather access to Needville. Thereafter, a local school bus transported high school students to schools in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
and
Rosenberg. Needville formed its own Independent School District (I.S.D.) in 1946 and opened its own high school in 1948. Needville I.S.D. opened a new elementary school in 1960. Integration of black and white schools was completed in 1966.
Geography
Needville is located in southern Fort Bend County at (29.398232, –95.839880).
Texas State Highway 36
State Highway 36 (SH 36) runs from Freeport to Abilene. It was designated as the 36th Division Memorial Highway between Cameron and Sealy by the Texas Legislature in 1985.
History
SH 36 was originally proposed on November 21, 1917, as a route ...
passes through the city, leading north to
Rosenberg and southeast to
West Columbia. Downtown
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
is to the northeast.
Farm to Market Road 360 starts at SH 36 and heads northwest to
Beasley, while
Farm to Market Road 1236
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...
goes southwest then southeast. Needville-Fairchilds Road connects with the community of
Fairchilds to the northeast.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the city of Needville has a total area of , all of it land.
Demographics
As of the
2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 3,089 people, 1,245 households, and 929 families residing in the city.
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2000, there were 2,609 people, 926 households, and 688 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was 1,532.5 people per square mile (592.6/km
2). There were 979 housing units at an average density of 575.1 per square mile (222.3/km
2). The racial makeup of the city was 74.09%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 13.19%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.27%
Native American, 0.11%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 10.23% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 2.11% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 23.96% of the population.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,202, and the median income for a family was $48,824. Males had a median income of $35,200 versus $26,389 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $17,802. About 8.9% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 16.8% of those under age 18 and 18.8% of those age 65 or over.
Government and infrastructure
The
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
Needville Post Office is located at 3000 School Street.
Fort Bend County does not have a hospital district. OakBend Medical Center serves as the county's charity hospital with which the county contracts.
File:Needville TX Post Office.JPG, US Post Office on FM 1236
File:Needville_TX_City_Hall.jpg, City Hall on FM 360
Events
* The Needville Harvest Festival, founded in 1983, is held every October. The festival is organized by NHF, Inc. to draw visitors to Needville in the hope of stimulating local business, to raise funds for community development, and to fund annual scholarships for local high school students. 2006 performance by Aaron Watson.
* The Needville Citywide Garage Sale is held in March and September each year. There is no website as the participants are homeowners and businesses. Information with a map is normally available at Kinfolks Antiques at (979) 793-7200. Dates can be found on th
Chamber of Commerce calendarof events.
Education
Needville is zoned to schools in the
Needville Independent School District
Needville Independent School District is a public school district based in unincorporated Fort Bend County, Texas ( USA) (with a Needville postal address).
The district has an area of .[Needville High School
Needville High School is a public high school located in unincorporated Fort Bend County, Texas (with a Needville postal address) and a part of the Needville Independent School District. It is classified as a 4A school by the UIL. The school se ...]
. Needville's Albert George Branch Library is a part of the
Fort Bend County Libraries system.
Some addresses not in Needville with "Needville, TX" addresses are zoned to
B.F. Terry High School
B. F. Terry High School is located in Rosenberg, Texas, United States, and is part of the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District.
Terry serves all of Beasley, and serves parts of Rosenberg, and the unincorporated communities of Booth a ...
in
Rosenberg, a part of
Lamar CISD.
The designated community college for Needville ISD (as well as LCISD) is
Wharton County Junior College
Wharton County Junior College (WCJC) is a public community college with its main campus in Wharton, Texas. The college also has campuses in Richmond, Sugar Land, and Bay City. WCJC is accredited by the Southern Association of Colle ...
.
File:Needville_ISD_Elementary.jpg, Needville Elementary School (in the Needville city limits)
File:Needville_ISD_High_School.jpg, Needville High School
Needville High School is a public high school located in unincorporated Fort Bend County, Texas (with a Needville postal address) and a part of the Needville Independent School District. It is classified as a 4A school by the UIL. The school se ...
File:Needville_ISD_Junior_High.jpg, Needville Junior High School
File:Needville_ISD_Middle_School.jpg, Needville Middle School
Public libraries
Albert George Branch Library of
Fort Bend County Libraries is in Needville. The library, which opened in November 1974, was named after Fort Bend County philanthropist Albert George. The Needville Chamber of Commerce and the Needville Lion's Club donated the land for the library. Originally the library, with its first portion designed by Wylie W. Vale & Associates, had of space. In 1997 the library system used bond funds to expand and renovate the library; the library gained a new entrance, a meeting room, and new toilet facilities. The library now has of space.
File:Needville_TX_Library.jpg, Albert George Library
Parks and recreation
Fort Bend County operates the Barbara Jordan Park in Needville.
Leased Parks
." Fort Bend County. Retrieved on October 11, 2009.
Nearby:
George Ranch Historical Park
educational center
* Brazos Bend State Park and George Observatory
Business
File:Needville TX Storage Unit.JPG, Storage building
File:Needville TX Kanak Law Building.JPG, Kanak Law Building
File:Needville TX Hwy 36 at FM 442.JPG, Urbanek's Country Store
Notable people
* Dennis Gaubatz, NFL linebacker
* Earnest Jackson, NFL running back
Notes
References
External links
City of Needville official website
Needville Area Chamber of Commerce
George Ranch Historical Park
photos, hosted b
The Portal to Texas History
{{authority control
Cities in Texas
Cities in Fort Bend County, Texas