Harper is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP), located west of Fredericksburg on U.S. Highway 290, in Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 1,332 at the 2020 census.
History
On December 15, 1847, a petition was submitted to create Gillespie County. In 1848, the legislature formed Gillespie County from Bexar and Travis Counties. While the signers were overwhelmingly German immigrants, names also on the petition were Castillo, Pena, Munos, and a handful of Anglo names.
The first white settlers were the families of Eli McDonald and Matthew Taylor in 1863. A historical marker just south of U.S. Highway 290 commemorates the McDonald massacre of August 1864. This incident involved the killing of two family members and the kidnapping of five more by Kiowa Indians.
A post office was established in 1883 by George Franklin Harper, for whom the town was named. By 1985, the town served a large ranching area and had six churches, a fire department and ambulance services, a public school, and growing residential subdivisions. The population of the area exceeded 1,000 by 2000.
Geography
Harper is located in western Gillespie County, about northwest of San Antonio and west of Austin.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.14%, is covered by water. The headwaters of the Pedernales River flow through the community.
Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Harper has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa on climate maps.
Demographics
Harper first appeared as a census designated place in the 2000 U.S. census.
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|942
|1,035
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,077
|93.64%
|86.83%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |80.86%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|1
|4
|style='background: #ffffe6; |7
|0.10%
|0.34%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.53%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|6
|7
|style='background: #ffffe6; |7
|0.60%
|0.59%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.53%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|1
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.10%
|0.08%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.08%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|0
|3
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5
|0.00%
|0.25%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.38%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|6
|6
|style='background: #ffffe6; |35
|0.60%
|0.50%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.63%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|50
|136
|style='background: #ffffe6; |200
|4.97%
|11.41%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |15.02%
|-
|Total
|1,006
|1,192
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,332
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2000 census
As of the census