Bulverde, Texas
Encyclopedia
Bulverde is a city in Comal County
, Texas
, United States
. The population was 3,761 at the 2000 census. It is part of the San Antonio
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 7.6 square miles (19.7 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 3,761 people, 1,292 households, and 1,131 families residing in the city. The population density
was 495.7 people per square mile (191.3/km2). There were 1,349 housing units at an average density of 177.8 per square mile (68.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 95.32% White, 0.32% African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.81% from other races
, and 1.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.95% of the population.
There were 1,292 households out of which 41.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 79.6% were married couples
living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.4% were non-families. 10.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.3% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 29.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 101.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $67,055, and the median income for a family was $68,019. Males had a median income of $49,245 versus $30,717 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $26,887. About 1.5% of families and 2.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under the age of eighteen or sixty-five or over.
According to the Handbook of Texas Online http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/BB/hnb99.html referencing Oscar Haas, History of New Braunfels and Comal County, Texas, 1844-1946 (Austin: Steck, 1968), Bulverde was settled in 1850 and called Pieper Settlement, after Anton Pieper. For many years the closest post office was at Smithson Valley, and mail was delivered once a week to the house of Carl Koch in Bulverde. A local post office that operated from 1879 to 1919 was named for Luciano Bulverdo, an early area landowner.
Many residents of early Bulverde were immigrants or direct descendants of the German immigrants that had settled much of the Texas Hill Country. In the 1950s and as recently as the 1970s, many if not most of the residents carried German surnames (such as Siedel (meaning beer mug in German) and Saur (meaning soil)). Major changes came to the region when Interstate 35 was built and Canyon Lake was created. http://www.texaswatermatters.org/pdfs/news_36.pdf Both of these brought new residents, and another wave of settlers came to Bulverde.
The area surrounding Bulverde was once made up of huge ranches. In the early 1970s, the first subdivisions of ranch land in Bulverde resulted in neighborhoods such as Bulverde Hills and Oak Village North. These were predecessors to numerous other subdivisions that would, by the 2000s, turn Bulverde into a suburb of San Antonio. In the mid-2000s, the final large ranch in the Bulverde area, the Johnson Ranch, was sold. The plans for Johnson Ranch call for the first large master-planned community in the area offering the cluster development concept which will provide much greater open space and allow for centralized water and wastewater systems, rather than the less environmentally-friendly well and septic systems which are used in all of the older, neighboring residential developments around Bulverde. Whether these features mitigate higher traffic and increased pollution that will result from thousands of cars on an already overcrowded area road system remains to be seen.
.
Throughout the 1980s and as of 2007, the children of Bulverde fed into Smithson Valley High School.
Smithson Valley High School has earned the reputation of having very excellent academic and athletic departments. The sports teams from the high school regularly advance to compete at state championship levels.
There is also Bracken Christian School, a k4-12th school that sits on a hilltop.
The Bulverde Standard was in circulation from the mid-1980s until 1996.
The Bulverde Community News founded in 1994 by Bob Welch (Publisher) and Julia Welch (Managing Editor) exerted dominance in local news coverage and became the official paper of record for the newly formed City of Bulverde. Mr. and Mrs. Welch sold the Bulverde Community News to Prime Time Newspapers (a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communication) in September 1998.
Comal County, Texas
Comal County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its population was 108,472. Its seat is New Braunfels.Comal County is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History Timeline:...
, 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...
. The population was 3,761 at the 2000 census. 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.
Geography
Bulverde is located at 29.748486°N 98.413238°W, about 23 miles (37 km) north of downtown 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,...
.
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 has a total area of 7.6 square miles (19.7 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 3,761 people, 1,292 households, and 1,131 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 495.7 people per square mile (191.3/km2). There were 1,349 housing units at an average density of 177.8 per square mile (68.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 95.32% White, 0.32% African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.81% 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 1.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.95% of the population.
There were 1,292 households out of which 41.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 79.6% 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, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.4% were non-families. 10.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.3% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 29.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 101.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $67,055, and the median income for a family was $68,019. Males had a median income of $49,245 versus $30,717 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 $26,887. About 1.5% of families and 2.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under the age of eighteen or sixty-five or over.
History
Bulverde's first people were Native Americans. A type of arrow head known as the Bulverde Point http://www.arrowheads.com/typology/pointtypes.htm#sectB is named after the style of arrowhead made by Native Americans who lived in the area during the period 2,500 to 600 B.C. http://anthropology.tamu.edu/faculty/thoms/publications/YC%20Chapter%2004-Native%20Land%20Use.pdfAccording to the Handbook of Texas Online http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/BB/hnb99.html referencing Oscar Haas, History of New Braunfels and Comal County, Texas, 1844-1946 (Austin: Steck, 1968), Bulverde was settled in 1850 and called Pieper Settlement, after Anton Pieper. For many years the closest post office was at Smithson Valley, and mail was delivered once a week to the house of Carl Koch in Bulverde. A local post office that operated from 1879 to 1919 was named for Luciano Bulverdo, an early area landowner.
Many residents of early Bulverde were immigrants or direct descendants of the German immigrants that had settled much of the Texas Hill Country. In the 1950s and as recently as the 1970s, many if not most of the residents carried German surnames (such as Siedel (meaning beer mug in German) and Saur (meaning soil)). Major changes came to the region when Interstate 35 was built and Canyon Lake was created. http://www.texaswatermatters.org/pdfs/news_36.pdf Both of these brought new residents, and another wave of settlers came to Bulverde.
The area surrounding Bulverde was once made up of huge ranches. In the early 1970s, the first subdivisions of ranch land in Bulverde resulted in neighborhoods such as Bulverde Hills and Oak Village North. These were predecessors to numerous other subdivisions that would, by the 2000s, turn Bulverde into a suburb of San Antonio. In the mid-2000s, the final large ranch in the Bulverde area, the Johnson Ranch, was sold. The plans for Johnson Ranch call for the first large master-planned community in the area offering the cluster development concept which will provide much greater open space and allow for centralized water and wastewater systems, rather than the less environmentally-friendly well and septic systems which are used in all of the older, neighboring residential developments around Bulverde. Whether these features mitigate higher traffic and increased pollution that will result from thousands of cars on an already overcrowded area road system remains to be seen.
Education
The City of Bulverde is served by the Comal Independent School DistrictComal Independent School District
Comal Independent School District is a public school district based in New Braunfels, Texas .The district covers in five central Texas counties - Comal, Bexar, Hays, Kendall, and Guadalupe. Incorporated communities in the district include Bulverde, Garden Ridge, and portions of New Braunfels...
.
Throughout the 1980s and as of 2007, the children of Bulverde fed into Smithson Valley High School.
Smithson Valley High School has earned the reputation of having very excellent academic and athletic departments. The sports teams from the high school regularly advance to compete at state championship levels.
There is also Bracken Christian School, a k4-12th school that sits on a hilltop.
Newspapers
The Bulverde Bul-a-ton was published in the mid-1980s. The publisher was Betty Baker. The offices were located due East of the Justice of the Peace's office for Pct. 3 Comal County. The airport was West of the offices. Wood's store, later Spec's store was north of the offices.The Bulverde Standard was in circulation from the mid-1980s until 1996.
The Bulverde Community News founded in 1994 by Bob Welch (Publisher) and Julia Welch (Managing Editor) exerted dominance in local news coverage and became the official paper of record for the newly formed City of Bulverde. Mr. and Mrs. Welch sold the Bulverde Community News to Prime Time Newspapers (a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communication) in September 1998.
Notable natives
- Augie MeyersAugie MeyersAugust "Augie" Meyers is an American musician. He is best known as keyboard-player with the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados.-History:...
— musician and singer, former member of Sir Douglas QuintetSir Douglas QuintetSir Douglas Quintet was a rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Despite their British sounding name, they came out of San Antonio, Texas. Their career was established when they began working with Texas record-producer Huey P. Meaux, after which the band relocated to the West Coast...
, and Texas TornadosTexas TornadosTexas Tornados is a Tejano band. Its music is a fusion of rock, country and various Mexican styles.-History:The initial combination of musicians of the Texas Tornados happened almost by chance at a concert performance of a mutual acquaintance...
. - 1945 Heisman TrophyHeisman TrophyThe Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winner, "Mr. Inside" Felix "Doc" BlanchardDoc BlanchardFelix Anthony "Doc" Blanchard is best known as the college football player who became the first ever junior to win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and was the first ever football player to win the James E. Sullivan Award, all in 1945. He played football for the United States Military Academy at...
died of pneumoniaPneumoniaPneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
on April 19, 2009 in Bulverde. - Jason LaRueJason LaRueMichael Jason "Rusty" LaRue is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and St...
- MLB Baseball Player. - Andrew SendejoAndrew SendejoAndrew Victor Sendejo is an American football safety for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was signed by the Sacramento Mountain Lions as a street free agent in 2010...
- Dallas CowboysDallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
safety.