Bulverde, Texas

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Bulverde, Texas
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =

imagesize =
image_caption =


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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Bulverde, Texas

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 78163
area_code = 830
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 48-11224GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1378070GR|3
website =
footnotes =

Bulverde is a city in Comal County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,761 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Bulverde is located at coor dms|29|44|55|N|98|24|48|W|city (29.748486, -98.413238)GR|1, about 23 miles (37 km) north of downtown San Antonio.

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.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 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/sq mi (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.

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.pdf]

According to the Handbook of Texas Online [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/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. Bulverde development guidelines call for homes to be built on lots no smaller than one acre (and most homes are built on one to five acre lots), but the Johnson Ranch development is looking to undermine those rules and bring big city development to Bulverde. [http://www.co.comal.tx.us/Millikin/2-12-06.htm]

Education

The City of Bulverde is served by the Comal Independent School District.

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.

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 1980's 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 of 1998.

Notable natives

*Augie Meyers — musician and singer, former member of Sir Douglas Quintet, and Texas Tornados.Cory Clark-Smithson Valley Offensive Lineman drafted by the San Diego Chargers in 2008.

References

External links

*
* [http://www.bulverdetexas.com Bulverde Texas Online]