Bend is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

Lampasas Lampasas ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lampasas County, Texas, United States. Its population was 7,291 at the 2020 census. Lampasas is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan statistical area. History For his ...

and San Saba counties in western

Central Texas Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas roughly bordered on the west by San Saba, to the southeast by Bryan- College Station, the south by San Marcos and to the north by Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part ...

. Its population was 1,678 as of the 2010 census.

History

Settlement of the area began in the mid-19th century by farmers. In 1854, the community took the name Schleicher's Bend, after an early settler

Gustav Schleicher Gustav Schleicher (sometimes spelled Gustave) (November 19, 1823 – January 10, 1879) was a German-born Democratic United States Representative from Texas. He was an engineer who served briefly in the Texas legislature, and was a veteran ...

. Other early settlers included the Low brothers. By 1856, it was called McAnelly's Bend after Robert Daugherty McAnelly, a landowner on the Lampasas side of the river. The community exists on both sides of the Colorado River, the Lampasas (west) side of the river is known locally as "Little Bend". When the application for a post office on the San Saba side of the river was made in the late 1870s, the names Little Breeches and Bend were submitted; the Bend Post Office opened in 1879 and has continuously operated ever since. Bend had a population of around 400 in 1890. For most of the 20th century, however, the community recorded 100 to 125 residents. Bend eventually developed during the 1870s and 1880s, with a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

, a

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); ...

, and a general store serving farmers in the area. Three churches opened here in the 1880s. A justice of the peace courthouse, a

constabulary Constabulary may have several definitions: *A civil, non-paramilitary (police) force consisting of police officers called constables. This is the usual definition in the United Kingdom, in which all county police forces once bore the title (and s ...

, craft shops, mercantile stores, and a hotel were in operation in 1890.

Corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

, and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

were the most common commodities shipped by area farmers. The community's population was 115 from 1990 through 2000, with two businesses. Three miles south of Bend, the Victorian resort and

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

of Sulphur Springs fell into disuse during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

but was revived in the 1980s as a fishing resort on the Colorado River. In the early 20th century, extensive pecan orchards were planted in the area. By the mid-century, the Hollis native pecan had become the region's

cash crop A cash crop, also called profit crop, is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate a marketed crop from a staple crop ("subsi ...

. Bend boosters consider the 'Jumbo Hollis', a tree whose name is derived from its unusually large nuts and its first owner, Thomas I. Hollis, to be the world's most productive pecan tree. When other native pecan trees averaged 70 to 80 nuts per pound, Jumbo's averaged 33. At the

1904 World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 mi ...

, 'Jumbo Hollis' pecans won the bronze medal for being the largest displayed. The tree's record year was 1919, producing 1,015 pounds of nuts.

Geography

Bend is located on Farm to Market Road 580 on the western leg of a horseshoe-shaped bend in the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

, southeast of San Saba in southeastern San Saba and western Lampasas Counties. It is also located west of

and northwest of

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

via

U.S. Route 183 U.S. Route 183 (US 183) is a north–south United States highway. The highway's northern terminus is in Presho, South Dakota, at an intersection with Interstate 90. Its southern terminus is in Refugio, Texas, at the southern intersection ...

Education

The first school in this community opened in 1872. The Little Bend school closed in the 1920s and the Bend school was consolidated with San Saba schools in 1960. The San Saba County portion of Bend is served by the

San Saba Independent School District San Saba Independent School District is a public school district based in San Saba, Texas (USA). In addition to San Saba, the district also serves part of the community of Bend. The district's mascot is the Armadillo. In 2009, the school d ...

, while the

Lampasas Independent School District Lampasas Independent School District is a public school district based in Lampasas, Texas, Lampasas, Texas (United States, USA) that serves about 3,350 students. In addition to Lampasas, the district also serves the city of Kempner, Texas, Kem ...

serves Little Bend, the Lampasas County portion of the community.

Transportation

Farm to Market Road 580 crosses the Colorado River at Eagle Ford Crossing, connecting Bend with Little Bend. In 1884, a cable-line ferry was installed at Eagle Ford Crossing, and it was replaced by the Regency Bridge in 1902. The main road in Bend was paved in 1960.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in San Saba County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Lampasas County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan area

History

Geography

Education

Transportation

See also

References