Needville is a city in
Fort Bend County,
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 ...
, 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, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
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).
passes through the city, leading north to
Rosenberg and southeast to
West Columbia. Downtown
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
is to the northeast.
Farm to Market Road 360 starts at SH 36 and heads northwest to
Beasley, while
Farm to Market Road 1236 goes southwest, then southeastward. Needville-Fairchilds Road connects with the community of
Fairchilds to the northeast.
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 of Needville has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 3,089 people, 1,245 households, and 929 families residing in the city.
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 2,609 people, 926 households, and 688 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 979 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 74.09%
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 ...
, 13.19%
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 ...
, 0.27%
Native American, 0.11%
Asian, 10.23% from
other races, and 2.11% from two or more races.
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 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 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 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 ...
, 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 simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
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.
EMS is provided through Fort Bend County, and has one station that houses Squad 601, located at 3743 School St.
Fire is provided through Needville Fire Department, contracted by Fort Bend ESD #9. Needville Fire Station 1 is located at 3323 Richmond St.
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. High school students go to
Needville High School. 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 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 offers a range of postsecondary educational prog ...
.
File:Needville_ISD_Elementary.jpg, Needville Elementary School (in the Needville city limits)
File:Needville_ISD_High_School.jpg, Needville High School
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
* Olivia Julianna, American political strategist and abortion rights advocate
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
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Cities in Texas
Cities in Fort Bend County, Texas