Bandera County (Spanish: "flag", ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the U.S. state of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It is located in the Hill Country and its

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 ...

is Bandera. Bandera county was settled by German and Polish emigrants in the mid 1800s. Many residents are descendants of those same emigrants. As of the 2020 census, the population is 20,851. Bandera County is part of the San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan statistical area. The county is officially recognized as the "Cowboy Capital of the World" by the Texas Legislature.

History

In 1856, the Texas Legislature established Bandera County from portions of Bexar and Uvalde Counties, and named the county and its seat for Bandera Pass, which uses the Spanish word for flag.

Native Americans

Although the county's earliest evidence of human habitation dates from 8000 to 4000 BC, the county's earliest known ethnology places

Lipan Apache Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan languages, Southern Athabaskan Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people, who have lived in the Oasisamerica, Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European ...

and later Comanche settlements in the area during the 17th century.

19th century

In 1841, John Coffee Hays and a troop of Texas Rangers defeated a large party of Comanche warriors, thereby pacifying the region in what became known as the Battle of Bandera Pass. In 1853, John James and Charles S. DeMontel survey and plan the town of Bandera, which facilitates settlement by A. M. Milstead, Thomas Odem, P.D. Saner, and their families along the river. The families begin making cypress shingles. James, Montel and Company build a horse-powered sawmill and open a store within a year. In the wake of successive national insurrections crushed by Prussia, Austria and Russia, 16 Polish families arrive in Bandera in 1855 and begin working in James and DeMontel's sawmill. August Klappenbach opens the first store and post office. In 1856, the Texas Legislature establishes Bandera County from portions of Bexar County, and the county is formally organized. By 1860, the population grew to 399, which included 12

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. By 1880, sheep and Angora goats become more profitable than farming.

20th century

In 1920, Cora and Ed Buck launched Bandera's tourist industry by taking boarders at their ranch, and by 1933, Frontier Times Museum opened to the public. During the last 30 years of the 20th century, with an estimated 80% of its land dedicated to farming and ranching industries, the county government facilitated three major actions to preserve its natural heritage: the Lost Maples State Natural Area opens to the public in 1979, the Hill Country State Natural Area opens to the public in 1984, and the Nature Conservancy purchases of the Love Creek Ranch from Baxter and Carol Adams to create the Love Creek Preserve in 2000.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.8%) is water. Bandera County is a part of the Greater San Antonio area and is located on the Edwards Plateau.

Major highways

* State Highway 16 * State Highway 46 * State Highway 173 * Park Road 37 * Ranch to Market Road 187 * Ranch to Market Road 337 * Ranch to Market Road 1077 * Farm to Market Road 1283 * Ranch to Market Road 2828 * Farm to Market Road 3240

Adjacent counties

* Kerr County (north) * Kendall County (northeast) * Bexar County (southeast) * Medina County (south) * Uvalde County (southwest) * Real County (west)

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 20,485 people living in the county. 92.8% were

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.8% Native American, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 3.8% of some other race and 1.8% of two or more races. 16.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 17.6% were of German, 13.7% English, 10.2% Irish and 10.1% American ancestry. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 17,645 people, 7,010 households, and 5,061 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 9,503 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.02%

, 0.33%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.90% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.55% from other races, and 1.86% from two or more races. 13.51% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 7,010 households, out of which 29.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.80% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.80% were non-families. 23.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.92. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.70% under the age of 18, 5.80% from 18 to 24, 25.70% from 25 to 44, 27.60% from 45 to 64, and 16.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $39,013, and the median income for a family was $45,906. Males had a median income of $31,733 versus $24,451 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $19,635. About 7.70% of families and 10.80% 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 ...

, including 12.20% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The following school districts serve Bandera County: * Bandera Independent School District * Medina Independent School District (partial) * Northside Independent School District (partial) * Utopia Independent School District (partial) All of the county is in the service area of Alamo Community College District.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.162. ALAMO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.

Communities

City

* Bandera (county seat)

Census-designated places

* Lake Medina Shores (partly in Medina County) * Lakehills (largest community)

Unincorporated communities

* Bandera Falls *

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

* Pipe Creek * Tarpley * Vanderpool

Ghost town

* Tuff

Politics

References

External links

*
Bandera County Chamber of Commerce

Bandera County Convention and Visitor Bureau
*
Bandera County
from the Texas Almanac
Bandera County
from the TXGenWeb Project
''Pioneer history of Bandera County: seventy-five years of intrepid history''
published 1922, hosted b
The Portal to Texas History
{{Coord, 29.74, -99.23, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1856 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1856 Greater San Antonio Texas Hill Country