Kendall County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In the 2020 census, its population was 44,279. Its county seat is Boerne. The county is named for George Wilkins Kendall, a journalist and Mexican–American War correspondent. Kendall County is located in the Texas German belt region, an area settled by German emigrants in the mid 1800s.

Kendall County is part of the San Antonio–New Braunfels, TX metropolitan statistical area.

Progressive Farmer rated Kendall County fifth in its list of the "Best Places to Live in Rural America" in 2006.

Kendall, along with Hays and Comal Counties, was listed in 2017 of the nation's 10 fastest-growing large counties with a population of at least 10,000. From 2015 to 2016, Kendall County, the second-fastest-growing county in the nation, grew by 5.16%, gaining 2,088 people in a one-year period.

History

Before 1850

  • Early Native American inhabitants included Kiowa, Comanche, and Lipan Apache.
  • In the 1700s, Lipan Apaches discovered Cascade Caverns.
  • 1842

:April 20 – Adelsverein organized in Germany to promote emigration to Texas.

:June 7 – Fisher-Miller Land Grant set aside to settle 600 families and single men of German, Dutch, Swiss, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian ancestry in Texas.

  • 1844, June 26 – Henry Francis Fisher sold his interest in the land grant to Adelsverein.

:May – John O. Meusebach arrived in Galveston.

:December 20 – Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller sold their rights in the land grant to Adelsverein.

  • 1847

:Meusebach–Comanche Treaty

:Sisterdale was established.

  • 1849 Freethinkers Bettina colonists from Llano County settled Tusculum, named after Cicero's home in ancient Rome. The initial community banned any churches from being erected. The town was later renamed Boerne, for German-Jewish political writer Ludwig Börne, who influenced Karl Marx.

1850–1899

  • 1850s George W. Kendall introduced sheep ranching to the county.
  • 1854

:John O. Meusebach received an appointment as commissioner from Governor Elisha M. Pease.

:May 14–15, San Antonio – The Texas State Convention of Germans adopted a political, social, and religious platform, including: 1) Equal pay for equal work; 2) Direct election of the President of the United States; 3) Abolition of capital punishment; 4) "Slavery is an evil, the abolition of which is a requirement of democratic principles.."; 5) Free schools – including universities – supported by the state, without religious influence; and 6) Total separation of church and state.

:Comfort is founded by German immigrant Freethinkers and abolitionists.

  • 1860 Boerne Village Band was formed by Karl Dienger.
  • 1861 Unionists from Kerr, Gillespie, and Kendall Counties participated in the formation of the Union League, a secret organization to support President Abraham Lincoln's policies.
  • 1862

:Kendall County was established from Kerr and Blanco Counties, named for journalist George Wilkins Kendall. Boerne was made the county seat.

:The Union League formed companies to protect the frontier against Indians and their families against local Confederate forces. Conscientious objectors to the military draft were primarily among Tejanos and Germans.

:May 30 – Confederate authorities imposed martial law on Central Texas.

:August 10 – The Nueces massacre occurred in Kinney County. Jacob Kuechler served as a guide for 61 conscientious objectors attempting to flee to Mexico. Scottish-born Confederate irregular James Duff and his Duff’s Partisan Rangers pursued and overtook them at the Nueces River, 34 were killed, some executed after being taken prisoner. Jacob Kuechler survived the battle. The cruelty shocked the people of Gillespie County; 2,000 took to the hills to escape Duff's reign of terror.

:Spring Creek Cemetery near Harper in Gillespie County has a singular grave with the names Sebird Henderson, Hiram Nelson, Gus Tegener, and Frank Scott. The inscription reads "Hanged and thrown in Spring Creek by Col. James Duff's Confederate Regiment".

  • 1866 Samuel Boyd Patton was elected chief justice after his home became part of Kendall County which had been Blanco County.
  • 1866, August 10 – Treue der Union Monument ("Loyalty to the Union") in Comfort dedicated to the German Texans slain at the Nueces massacre. It is one of only six such sites allowed to fly the United States flag at half-mast in perpetuity.
  • 1867 Native Americans kill six sheperds east of Boerne.
  • 1870 The original Kendall County limestone courthouse was built (Italianate architecture), with architects Philip Zoeller and J. F. Stendebach.
  • 1871 Clinton (age 11) and Jeff Smith (age 9) are kidnapped by a band of Comanches and Lipan Apaches at Cibolo Creek, and are held in captivity by the Natives for five years.
  • 1885 Austrian-born Andreas Engel founded Bergheim.

: The Sisterdale cotton gin began operations.

  • 1887 San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway began a Boerne-to-San Antonio route.
  • 1897, May 27 – John O. Meusebach died at his farm at Loyal Valley in Mason County, and was buried in the Marschall Meusebach Cemetery at Cherry Spring.

1900–present

  • 1900 Kendall County had 542 farms. Area under cultivation had risen from in 1880 to . Stockraising was still the principal industry.
  • 1905 Citizens of Boerne gathered to share agricultural information, recipes, and news of events. This later became the annual Kendall County Fair.
  • 1913 The Kendall County Fair Association was organized and was awarded a nonprofit corporate charter from the State of Texas.
  • 1930s

:The Great Depression brought an increase in tenant farming.

:Commercial development of Cascade Caverns began.

  • World War II – American military bases in the San Antonio area provided jobs for Kendall County residents.
  • 1983 The Guadalupe River State Park opened to the public.
  • 1988 The Federal Republic of Germany recognized the Boerne Village Band for its contribution to the German heritage in Texas and America.
  • 1990, Earth Day – Cibolo Nature Center opened to the public.
  • 1991 The Texas Legislature adopted a resolution recognizing the Boerne Village Band for "keeping alive German music as a part of our heritage."
  • 1998 The current Kendall County limestone, steel, and concrete courthouse was built in Boerne, across the street from the original 1870 courthouse with architect Rehler Vaughn & Koone, Inc.
  • 2005 Kendall County celebrated its 100th anniversary of the Kendall County Fair. The Kendall County Fair Association continues to produce one of the few remaining entirely privately funded county fairs in Texas.
  • 2013 The Kendall County Fair Association, Inc. celebrated its 100th year of existence.
  • 2015 Kendall County declared a state of emergency from May flooding.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (0.09%) is covered by water.

Major highways

  • 20px Interstate 10
  • 20px U.S. Highway 87 (Old Spanish Trail)
  • 20px U.S. Highway 87 Business (Main Street)
  • 20px U.S. Highway 87 Business (Old Spanish Trail)
  • 20px State Highway 27 (Old Spanish Trail)
  • 20px State Highway 46
  • 20px Farm To Market Road 289 (Old Spanish Trail)
  • 20px Farm to Market Road 1621
  • 20px Farm to Market Road 3351
  • 20px Ranch to Market Road 473
  • 20px Ranch to Market Road 474
  • 20px Ranch to Market Road 1376
  • 20px Ranch to Market Road 3160 (formerly part of FM 3351)

Historic highways

  • 30px Old Spanish Trail (auto trail)
  • Glacier to Gulf Highway

Adjacent counties

  • Gillespie County (north)
  • Blanco County (northeast)
  • Comal County (southeast)
  • Bexar County (south)
  • Bandera County (southwest)
  • Kerr County (west)

Waterways

  • Guadalupe River

Caves

  • Cave Without a Name
  • Spring Creek Cave
  • Prassell Ranch Cave
  • Three Whirlpool Cave
  • Cascade Caverns
  • Pfeiffer's Water Cave
  • Alzafar Water Cave
  • Reed Cave

Demographics