Bandera County, Texas
Bandera is home to 27 official Texas Historical Commission markers — each one telling a piece of the city’s story. Browse the markers below, then find them on the map and discover more nearby with RoadHistorical.
A strategic Indian point in early days. Rangers and Comanches struggled here in 1843. In 1854 Elder Lyman Wight settled Mormon colony. In 1855 Poles settled here. From early days a part of Bexar County, created and…
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View on map ↗Site 25 mi. West on Hy. 470, 1 mi. South. Established 1862 as part of Red River-Rio Grande defense line. Named for Captain Charles DeMontel, surveyor and colonizer of Bandera, leader of county defenses. Occupied by…
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View on map ↗Bandera's First Bank. On Texas Republic land grant. Hand-cut native rock. Built about 1860. A school, home, shop. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1965.
View on map ↗Built 1933 to house Western collection of J. Marvin Hunter, Sr. (1880-1957), noted historian, journalist, editor and author. Having lived throughout the west, he settled in Bandera as owner of "New Era", 1921-1934. In…
View on map ↗Built 1881. Local stone, cypress floors used. Housed county offices until 1890. Used 57 years. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1965.
View on map ↗Built 1880 by members under leadership of B.F. Langford, Sr. Gothic architecture. Hand-cut limestone, with oak timbers. Though enlarged and remodeled, retains original charm. Rev. John Devilbiss (who helped found first…
View on map ↗Entered the year-old town of Bandera in March, 1854. Leader was Lyman Wight, church elder who had separated from followers of Brigham Young and taken a colony of 250 to Texas in 1846. Settling first in Austin, then…
View on map ↗Built 1873 for E. Huffmeyer & brother, by B.F. Langford, Sr., contractor; of native stone. Bandera's oldest building. Used over 30 years by W.J. Davenport, Sr., as general store. Damaged by fire, 1936. Restored and…
View on map ↗This winding, 100-mile trail from San Antonio to Kerrville was, during the 19th century, a strategic patrol road traveled by Texas Rangers to protect the surrounding area from hostile Indian attacks. During uneasy…
View on map ↗A Bandera County Deputy Sheriff, Capt. Jack Phillips, set out alone on Dec. 29, 1876, on an official visit to Sabinal Canyon. Indians attacked him at Seco Canyon Pass, 22 miles southwest of Bandera. Phillips raced for…
View on map ↗First permanent courthouse for county, which was organized in 1856, but used makeshift quarters for offices and courtrooms until this building was erected 1890-91. Style is local version of the Second Renaissance…
View on map ↗Polish settlers, who came to Bandera in 1855, built this convent and Catholic school in 1874. All classes, except religion and music, were moved in 1882 to a nearby frame school building. In 1922 a second story was…
View on map ↗Georgia stonemason Henry White is credited with building this structure in 1868. In 1877, a store occupied the first floor and the Masonic Lodge met on the top floor. County commissioners bought the building that year…
View on map ↗This home was constructed in the 1870s by Georgia stonemason James Henry White for Charles F. Schmidtke (1839-1884). A native of Germany, Schmidtke was an early Bandera merchant, grist miller, and lumber mill operator.…
View on map ↗Bandera's early settlers included Lyman Wight's Mormon colony, which arrived in 1854. In 1890, John and Jennie Davenport Miller bought this site from colonists George and Virgine Minear hay. George and early Bandera…
View on map ↗Communities in the 19th century relied on mills to provide lumber, shingles, flour and cloth. Local millers and blacksmiths were integral community members, providing the necessary materials for early development.…
View on map ↗The Bandera Cemetery has served the town of Bandera since the 1850s. The site's oldest burial dates to 1851, before the town's establishment several years later. Many former community leaders of the area are buried in…
View on map ↗Artist John Warren Hunter (1903-93), son of J. Marvin Hunter, was born in Kimble County and known for his scenic depictions of Texas. A 1923 graduate of Bandera High School, he soon began printing the Harper Herald with…
View on map ↗Established 1886 Historic Texas Cemetery – 2007
View on map ↗The tradition of the Texas cowboy originated from northern Mexico with the vaqueros, individuals mounted on horseback who herded livestock, mainly cattle, through the open prairie. These men became legends in Bandera…
View on map ↗The Great Western Cattle Trail (also known as the Old Texas Trail and the Dodge City Trail) was the longest of all 19th century trails used to drive cattle from Texas to distant markets. In 1874, Capt. John T. Lytle and…
View on map ↗The origin of the name of Bandera Pass and its namesake city and county dates back to conflicts between the Spanish Army and native Lipan Apaches in the early 18th century. The history of the townsite began in the early…
View on map ↗Colonel John Henry "Jack" Lapham (1885-1956) was a son of a co-founder of the Texas Company (later Texaco). He was living in San Antonio by 1920 and had many business interests. Jack, his wife, Julie Edna (Capen), and…
View on map ↗Freedman and soldier Hendrick Arnold (1804-1849) was awarded land following the Texas Revolution for his participation in the Siege of Bexar and the Battle of San Jacinto. He received six surveys in what was then Bexar…
View on map ↗Walter and Francis (Adamietz) Ruge created the Bandera Water Works to serve businesses and residences. Walter Trenklebach bought the franchise in 1936, extending the water main to the school and promoting modernization.…
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