Bandera (Spanish: "flag", ) is a town in

Bandera County, Texas Bandera County (Spanish: "flag", ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located in the Texas Hill Country, Hill Country and its county seat is Bandera, Texas, Bandera. Bandera county was settled by German and P ...

, United States. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, it lies in the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ame ...

, a part of the

Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region forming the crossroads of Central, South and West Texas, United States. It is named in honor of Haden Edwards. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east; the Llano Uplift and the Lla ...

located at the crossroads of the central, southern, and western parts of the state, Its population was 829 at the 2020 census. Bandera calls itself the "

Cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

Capital of the World", a legacy dating to its days as a staging area for what is today known as

Great Western Cattle Trail The Great Western Cattle Trail is the name used today for a cattle trail established during the late 19th century for moving beef stock and horses to markets in eastern and northern states. It ran west of and roughly parallel to the better know ...

for the last cattle drives of the 1800s."This Small Texas Town Has Less Than 1,000 Residents — and It's the 'Cowboy Capital of the World"
travelandliesure.com, March 23, 2023

History

Bandera was founded in 1855 by

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

immigrants from the

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part of the German Empire in 1871. In 1919, as ...

. They built St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, and many local residents are descended from them. ''Bandera'' is the Spanish word for flag. How the town acquired the name is unknown. One theory is that the town is named after Bandera Pass. Bandera was a staging area on the

, during the late 19th century. The Cabaret Dance Hall opened in 1936. Throughout its history, the dance hall hosted

Bob Wills James Robert "Bob" Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade C ...

Doug Sahm Douglas Wayne Sahm (November 6, 1941 – November 18, 1999) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from San Antonio, Texas. He is regarded as a key Tejano music, Tex-Mex music and Music of Texas, Texan Music pe ...

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), marked ...

, and others. In 2008, the hall was listed as endangered by Preservation Texas. By at least 2013 the hall was closed. By at least 2015, the hall was demolished. Bandera hosts a three-day Cowboy Mardi Gras that attracts over 15,000 people from all over the world to the town.

Geography

Bandera is located in east-central Bandera County, northwest of

downtown San Antonio Downtown San Antonio is the central business district of San Antonio, Texas, and the urban core of Greater San Antonio, a metropolitan area with nearly 2.5 million people. Downtown San Antonio is encircled by Texas State Highway Loop 1604, 16 ...

, on the

Medina River The Medina River is located in south central Texas, United States, in the Medina Valley. It was also known as the Rio Mariano, Rio San Jose, or Rio de Bagres (Catfish river). Its source is in springs in the Edwards Plateau in northwest Band ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which (about 5 acres or 0.55%) is covered by water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, 829 people, 240 households, and 118 families were residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, 957 people, 408 households, and 239 families were residing in the city. The population density was . The 488 housing units averaged . The racial makeup of the city was 94.98% White, 0.21% African American, 0.52% Native American, 2.51% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 21.84% of the population. Of the 408 households, 24.5% had children under 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were not families. About 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.22, and the average family size was 2.86. In the city, the age distribution was 21.5% under 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 25.1% who were 65 or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,089, and for a family was $36,500. Males had a median income of $27,604 versus $17,813 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,502. About 11.0% of families and 15.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 17.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Bandera is served by the

Bandera Independent School District Bandera Independent School District is a public school district based in Bandera, Texas (USA). In addition to Bandera, the district also serves the communities of Lakehills, Bandera Falls, Pipe Creek, and Tarpley. Finances As of the 2010 ...

and home to the

Bandera High School Bandera High School is a public high school located in Bandera, Texas, United States, and classified as a 4A school by the UIL. It is part of the Bandera Independent School District that serves students in eastern Bandera County. During 2022 ...

Bulldogs.

Trivia

* The city is home of Arkey Blue's Silver Dollar, a famous Hill Country

honky-tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

Sister cities

Strzelce Opolskie Strzelce Opolskie () is a town in southern Poland with 17,900 inhabitants (2019), situated in the Opole Voivodeship. It is the capital of Strzelce County. Etymology The name of the town is of Polish origin and comes from the old Polish word ''s ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

* Tysmenytsia,

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Gallery

First Baptist Church of Bandera, TX Picture 093.jpg, The First

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Church of Bandera Frontier Times Museum, Bandera, TX Picture 091.jpg, Entrance to the Frontier Times Museum in Bandera Cowboy mural in Bandera, TX Picture 099.jpg, Outdoor

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

reflects the theme of Bandera as the "Cowboy Capital of the World" Motorcyclists in Bandera, TX Picture 095.jpg, Motorcyclists in Bandera Bandera Courthouse 5 Wiki (1 of 1).jpg, Bandera Courthouse Bandera General Store.png, Old downtown store Bandera water tower and bank.png, Old bank on Main St. and an older water tower BRONCO.jpg, Cowboy statue File:Bandera town center historic sign.png, Historical marker for the town center

References

External links

City of Bandera official website

Bandera Chamber of Commerce

Bandera Visitors Bureau
* {{authority control Cities in Bandera County, Texas Cities in Texas County seats in Texas History of San Antonio Latter Day Saint movement in Texas Greater San Antonio Sundown towns in Texas