Needville is a city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States. It is within the Houston–Sugar Land metropolitan area. The population was 3,089 at the 2020 census.[5]

Needville, Texas
Motto: 
"The Home of Friendly People"[1]
Location of Needville, Texas
Location of Needville, Texas
Coordinates: 29°23′54″N 95°50′24″W / 29.39833°N 95.84000°W / 29.39833; -95.84000
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountyFort Bend
Area
 • Total2.01 sq mi (5.21 km2)
 • Land2.01 sq mi (5.20 km2)
 • Water0.01 sq mi (0.01 km2)
Elevation
89 ft (27 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total3,089
 • Density1,545.32/sq mi (596.67/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
77461
Area code979
FIPS code48-50628[3]
GNIS feature ID1342402[4]
Websitecityofneedville.com

History

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August Schendel founded the town of Schendelville in 1891 that contained his house, a store and a cotton gin. In 1894, he applied for a post office using the name "Needmore" as a joke, since they always needed more of everything. Due to Needmore, Texas already existing, the post office amended the name to "Needville".[6]

By 1898, Schendel had officially platted a town and begun selling lots. A school had been constructed in 1897. By 1903, Needville had a school for white children with one teacher and 97 pupils, and one school for black children with one teacher and 45 pupils. The Round Hall building had been built about 1910 for dances and other social activities, and remained in this service until the 1950s.[6]

Needville had three general stores, two cotton gins, a movie theater, and a population of 100 in 1914. Telephone service arrived in 1916. In 1918, the Needville State Bank opened and the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway built a line through the town. In 1920, Needville reported having a population of 500. It also reported having 12 general stores, four churches, four gins, and an electric power generation plant. [a]

From 1927 through 1931, the Fort Bend county fair was held in Needville. It was then discontinued because of the Great Depression, which caused the fair to run heavily into debt. Natural gas was piped into town in 1929. FM 36 was completed in 1932, allowing all-weather access to Needville. Thereafter, a local school bus transported high school students to schools in Richmond and Rosenberg. Needville formed its own Independent School District (I.S.D.) in 1946 and opened its own high school in 1948. Needville I.S.D. opened a new elementary school in 1960. Integration of black and white schools was completed in 1966.[6]

Geography

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Needville is located in southern Fort Bend County at 29°23′54″N 95°50′24″W / 29.398232°N 95.839880°W / 29.398232; -95.839880 (29.398232, –95.839880).[7] Texas State Highway 36 passes through the city, leading north 11 miles (18 km) to Rosenberg and southeast 21 miles (34 km) to West Columbia. Downtown Houston is 41 miles (66 km) to the northeast. Farm to Market Road 360 starts at SH 36 and heads northwest to Beasley, while Farm to Market Road 1236 goes southwest, then southeastward. Needville-Fairchilds Road connects with the community of Fairchilds to the northeast.[8]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Needville has a total area of 1.72 square miles (4.46 km2), all land.[5]

Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1950609
196086141.4%
19701,02418.9%
19801,41738.4%
19902,19955.2%
20002,60918.6%
20102,8238.2%
20203,0899.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]
Needville racial composition as of 2020[10]
(NH = Non-Hispanic)[b]
Race Number Percentage
White (NH) 1,797 58.17%
Black or African American (NH) 257 8.32%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH) 7 0.23%
Asian (NH) 21 0.68%
Some Other Race (NH) 5 0.16%
Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) 99 3.2%
Hispanic or Latino 903 29.23%
Total 3,089

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,089 people, 1,245 households, and 929 families residing in the city.

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 2,609 people, 926 households, and 688 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,532.5 inhabitants per square mile (591.7/km2). There were 979 housing units at an average density of 575.1 per square mile (222.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 74.09% White, 13.19% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 10.23% from other races, and 2.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.96% of the population.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,202, and the median income for a family was $48,824. Males had a median income of $35,200 versus $26,389 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,802. About 8.9% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.8% of those under age 18 and 18.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

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The United States Postal Service Needville Post Office is located at 3000 School Street.[13]

Fort Bend County does not have a hospital district.[14] OakBend Medical Center serves as the county's charity hospital with which the county contracts.

EMS is provided through Fort Bend County, and has one station that houses Squad 601, located at 3743 School St.

Fire is provided through Needville Fire Department, contracted by Fort Bend ESD #9. Needville Fire Station 1 is located at 3323 Richmond St.

Events

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  • The Needville Harvest Festival, founded in 1983, is held every October. The festival is organized by NHF, Inc. to draw visitors to Needville in the hope of stimulating local business, to raise funds for community development, and to fund annual scholarships for local high school students. 2006 performance by Aaron Watson.
  • The Needville Citywide Garage Sale is held in March and September each year. There is no website as the participants are homeowners and businesses. Information with a map is normally available at Kinfolks Antiques at (979) 793-7200. Dates can be found on the Chamber of Commerce calendar of events.

Education

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Needville is zoned to schools in the Needville Independent School District. High school students go to Needville High School. Needville's Albert George Branch Library is a part of the Fort Bend County Libraries system.

Some addresses not in Needville with "Needville, TX" addresses are zoned to B.F. Terry High School in Rosenberg, a part of Lamar CISD.

The designated community college for Needville ISD (as well as LCISD) is Wharton County Junior College.[15]

Public libraries

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Albert George Branch Library of Fort Bend County Libraries is in Needville. The library, which opened in November 1974, was named after Fort Bend County philanthropist Albert George. The Needville Chamber of Commerce and the Needville Lion's Club donated the land for the library. Originally the library, with its first portion designed by Wylie W. Vale & Associates, had 4,900 square feet (460 m2) of space. In 1997 the library system used bond funds to expand and renovate the library; the library gained a new entrance, a meeting room, and new toilet facilities. The library now has 6,800 square feet (630 m2) of space.[16]

Parks and recreation

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Fort Bend County operates the Barbara Jordan Park in Needville.[17]

Nearby:

Business

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Notable people

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Notes

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  1. ^ The power generating plant was bought by Houston Light and Power Company (H.L.&P.) in 1926 and named for W. A. Farish, its president.[6]
  2. ^ Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.[11][12]

References

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  1. ^ City of Needville official website
  2. ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  4. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  5. ^ a b "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Needville city, Texas". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved August 30, 2016.[dead link]
  6. ^ a b c d Odintz, Mark. "Needville, TX." Handbook of Texas. Accessed April 18, 2018.
  7. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  8. ^ "Needville, Texas" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  9. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  10. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  11. ^ https://www.census.gov/ [not specific enough to verify]
  12. ^ "About the Hispanic Population and its Origin". www.census.gov. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  13. ^ "Post Office Location - NEEDVILLE." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 6, 2008.
  14. ^ Knipp, Bethany (November 2, 2016). "Fort Bend County lacks hospital district". Community Impact Newspaper. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  15. ^ Texas Education Code Sec. 130.211. WHARTON COUNTY JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
  16. ^ "Albert George Branch Library." Fort Bend County Libraries. Retrieved on May 14, 2010.
  17. ^ "Leased Parks Archived 2009-12-21 at the Wayback Machine." Fort Bend County. Retrieved on October 11, 2009.
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