Bandera, Texas
Encyclopedia
Bandera is the county seat
of Bandera County
, Texas
, United States
,in the Texas Hill Country
, which is part of the Edwards Plateau
. The population was 957 at the 2000 census, and according to a 2009 estimate, the population had jumped up to 1,216 people. It is part of the San Antonio
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Bandera calls itself the "Cowboy
Capital of the World." The Frontier Times Museum
, founded by J. Marvin Hunter
and named for Hunter's Frontier Times magazine
, is located in Bandera across from the First Baptist
Church. Bandera also has a large presence in biker culture
.
. St. Stanislaus Catholic Church was built by those immigrants, and the church is one of the oldest in Texas. Many of the residents are descended from those original Polish immigrants.
There are many stories regarding the origin of the name "Bandera". One says that back in the 19th century, a flag was placed at the top of a path that came to be called "Bandera Pass" due to "bandera" being the Spanish word for "flag".
, on the Medina River
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city comprises a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 957 people, 408 households, and 239 families residing in the city. The population density
was 820.2 PD/sqmi. There were 488 housing units at an average density of 418.2 /sqmi. 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. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.84% of the population.
There were 408 households out of which 24.5% had children under the age of 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 non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 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 years of age 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 the median income 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.
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Bandera County
Bandera County, Texas
Bandera County, formed in 1856 from Bexar and Uvalde counties, is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population is 17,645. Its county seat is Bandera. Bandera is named for the Spanish word for flag...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
,in the Texas Hill Country
Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...
, which is part of the Edwards Plateau
Edwards Plateau
The Edwards Plateau is a region of west-central Texas which is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east, the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to the north, and the Pecos River and Chihuahuan Desert to the west. San Angelo, Austin, San Antonio and Del Rio roughly outline the area...
. The population was 957 at the 2000 census, and according to a 2009 estimate, the population had jumped up to 1,216 people. It is part of the San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Bandera calls itself the "Cowboy
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 traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
Capital of the World." The Frontier Times Museum
Frontier Times Museum
Frontier Times Museum is a museum of the American West located in Bandera in the Texas Hill Country. The facility was opened to the public in 1933 by the author, historian, and printer John Marvin Hunter .-Museum exhibits:...
, founded by J. Marvin Hunter
J. Marvin Hunter
John Marvin Hunter was an author, historian, journalist, and printer who founded the Frontier Times Museum in Bandera, Texas...
and named for Hunter's Frontier Times magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, is located in Bandera across from the First Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church. Bandera also has a large presence in biker culture
Biker culture
Biker culture can refer to:* Motorcycle clubs, groups of individuals whose primary interest and activities involve motorcycles.* Outlaw motorcycle clubs, also called a one percenter clubs or motorcycle gangs....
.
History
A visitor to Bandera can see a sign on Main Street, in front of the Fire Department, which states that Bandera was founded by Roman Catholic immigrants from PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. St. Stanislaus Catholic Church was built by those immigrants, and the church is one of the oldest in Texas. Many of the residents are descended from those original Polish immigrants.
There are many stories regarding the origin of the name "Bandera". One says that back in the 19th century, a flag was placed at the top of a path that came to be called "Bandera Pass" due to "bandera" being the Spanish word for "flag".
Geography
Bandera is located at 29°44′N 99°4′W (29.7258, -99.0750). This is 40 miles (64 km) northwest of San AntonioSan Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, on the Medina River
Medina River
The Medina River is located in south central Texas, USA, in the Medina Valley. Named after Pedro Medina, a Spanish engineer, by Alonso de León, Spanish governor of Coahuila, New Spain in 1689. It was also known as the Rio Mariano, Rio San Jose, or Rio de Bagres...
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city comprises a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 957 people, 408 households, and 239 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 820.2 PD/sqmi. There were 488 housing units at an average density of 418.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 94.98% White, 0.21% African American, 0.52% Native American, 2.51% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.84% of the population.
There were 408 households out of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 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 years of age 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 the median income for a family was $36,500. Males had a median income of $27,604 versus $17,813 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
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.
Entertainment
- Paris HiltonParis HiltonParis Whitney Hilton is an American businesswoman, heiress, and socialite. She is a great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton . Hilton is known for her controversial participation in a sex tape in 2003, and appearance on the television series The Simple Life alongside fellow socialite and childhood...
and Nicole RichieNicole RichieNicole Camille Richie is an American fashion designer, author, actress, singer and television personality. Her father was Peter Michael Escovedo, a musician who played for a brief time with Lionel Richie, and her mother Karen was the executive assistant for Sheila Escovedo...
visited the town while taping their reality televisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
program, The Simple Life 2. They worked at the Bandera County Jail. - The city is home of Arkey Blue's Silver Dollar, a famous Hill Country Honky-Tonk and was included in the 1975 film Race with the DevilRace with the DevilRace with the Devil is a 1975 occult thriller and action film starring Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit and Lara Parker. This was the second of three films Fonda and Oates would star in together...
. - On Sunday mornings, Bandera is a popular destination for motorcyclists from San Antonio, known as the Bandera Breakfast Run.
- Willie NelsonWillie NelsonWillie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
has an instrumental called "Bandera" on his Red Headed StrangerRed Headed StrangerRed Headed Stranger is a 1975 album by American outlaw country singer Willie Nelson. After the wide success of his recordings with Atlantic records, Nelson signed a contract with Columbia Records, a label that gave him total creative control over his works...
record. - Bandera was once home to Texas music legend Robert Earl KeenRobert Earl KeenRobert Earl Keen, Junior is an American Texas Country singer-songwriter. He is popular with fans of traditional country music, folk music, college radio, and alt-country. Keen currently resides in Kerrville, Texas and maintains a ranch in Medina, Texas.-Early life:Growing up in Houston, Texas,...
. - Bandera is the hometown of singer-songwriter brothers Bruce and Charlie Robison.
- The rugged Hill Country State Natural Area is the location of the Bandera 100K trail run and the Catus Rose 100 mile endurance run, two of the toughest ultramarathonUltramarathonAn ultramarathon is any sporting event involving running longer than the traditional marathon length of .There are two types of ultramarathon events: those that cover a specified distance, and events that take place during specified time...
s in Texas. Both are hosted annually by race director and veteran trail runner Joe Prusaitis. - The Mayan Dude Ranch is located in Bandera.
- Rudy RobbinsRudy RobbinsRudy Warner Robbins was a Western entertainer known for his singing, songwriting, acting, writing, and his past performance of film and television stunts...
(born 1933), a WesternWestern (genre)The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, stuntmanStuntmanA stuntman or stunt performer is someone who performs dangerous stunts.Stuntman may also refer to:*The Stunt Man, a 1980 film starring Peter O'Toole*Stuntman , a 2002 video game**Stuntman: Ignition, its sequel...
, singer, and songwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, has lived in Bandera for nearly five decadeDecadeA decade is a period of 10 years. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek dekas which means ten. This etymology is sometime confused with the Latin decas and dies , which is not correct....
s. - BanderaMusic.com is a Showcase of Texas Music. CDs by local music icons are available.