Boerne, Texas

Boerne, Texas
Main Street in Boerne, Texas ca 1890-1900
Location of Boerne, Texas
Country	United States
State	Texas
Counties	Kendall County
Settled	1849
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
• City Council	Mayor Mike Schultz Jeff Haberstroh Nina Woolard Charlie Boyd, IV Ron Cisneros Christina Bergmann
• City Manager	Ronald Bowman
Population (2010)
• Total	10,471
Interstates
U.S. Routes
Website	www.ci.boerne.tx.us

Boerne (/ˈbɜːrni/ BURN-ee) is a city in and the county seat of Kendall County, Texas, United States,^[1] within the Texas Hill Country. Boerne was named in honor of a Jewish-German author and publicist. The population of Boerne was 10,471 at the 2010 census. The city is noted for the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case City of Boerne v. Flores. Founded in 1849 as Tusculum, the name was changed to Boerne when the town was platted in 1852.

Boerne is part of the San Antonio–New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Boerne is the home of the Guadalupe Valley Poetry Celebration, a regional poetry festival that benefits the Boerne Public Library.

History

There are many historic structures in Boerne

Boerne came into being as an offshoot of the Texas Hill Country Free Thinker Latin Settlements, resulting from the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states. Those who came were Forty-Eighters, intellectual liberal abolitionists who enjoyed conversing in Latin and who believed in utopian ideals that guaranteed basic human rights to all.^[2] They reveled in passionate conversations about science, philosophy, literature, and music^[3] The Free Thinkers first settled Castell,^[4] Bettina,^[5] Leningen,^[6] and Schoenburg in Llano County. These experimental communities were supported by the Adelsverein^[7] for one year. The communities eventually failed due to lack of finances after the Adelsverein funding expired, and conflict of structure and authorities. Many of the pioneers from these communities moved to Sisterdale, Boerne and Comfort.^[8]

In 1849, a group of Free Thinker German colonists from Bettina camped on the north side of Cibolo Creek, about a mile west of the site of present Boerne. They named their new community after Cicero's Tusculum home in ancient Rome. In 1852, John James and Gustav Theissen,^[2] who helped settle Sisterdale, platted the townsite, renamed it in honor of German author Karl Ludwig Börne,^[9][10] with the Anglicized spelling of Boerne. The town was not incorporated until 1909. August Staffell^[11] was the original postmaster in 1856.

History office building

The 1870 limestone courthouse, second oldest in Texas, was designed by architects Philip Zoeller and J. F. Stendebach, and stands directly across the street from the current 1998 courthouse designed by architects Rehler Vaughn & Koone, Inc.^[12]

In March 1887, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway came to town. The coming of the railroad was an economic boost of some magnitude, and it created better conditions for the area.^[13]

In the late 1870s, retired British army officers, including Glynn Turquand and Captain Egremont Shearburn, played one of the first polo matches in the United States in Boerne.^[14] The polo ground is still visible on Balcones Ranch, bought by Captain Turquand in 1878.^[14]

Boerne's robust environment encouraged the health resort industry. Sisters of the Incarnate Word founded the St. Mary's Sanitarium in 1896 for pulmonary patients;^[15] Dr. W.E. Wright contracted with the Veterans Administration in 1919 to provide care for World War I veterans suffering from lung ailments;^[16] the William L. Sill Tuberculosis Resort operated northwest of Boerne;^[17] and Mrs. Adolph (Emilie) Lex opened her home to recovering patients, eventually converting two rooms into operating rooms.^[18]

Karl Degener organized the Boerne Gesang Verein (singing club) and the Boerne Village Band^[19] in 1860. The family and descendants of Sisterdale resident Baron Ottomar von Behr have included three generations of directors of the Boerne Village Band, and four generations of musicians.^[20] The band is billed as "Oldest Continuously Organized German Band in the World outside Germany", and in 1998^[21] the Federal Republic of Germany recognized the Boerne Village Band for its contribution to the German heritage in Texas and America.

Darmstadt Society of Forty

Some of the early settlers in Boerne migrated from the collapsed Fisher-Miller Land Grant experimental colonies of the Darmstadt Society of Forty.

Geography

Boerne is located at 29°47′40″N 98°43′53″W / 29.794445°N 98.731483°W / 29.794445; -98.731483Coordinates: 29°47′40″N 98°43′53″W / 29.794445°N 98.731483°W / 29.794445; -98.731483.^[22] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.1 square miles (16 km²), of which 5.8 square miles (15 km²) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km²) (4.74%) is water.

The town is 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Downtown San Antonio.

Two of Texas' seven show caves are located in Boerne: Cave Without a Name and Cascade Caverns. They are both actively growing limestone solution caves.

Climate

Boerne has a typical central Texas humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) with hot, frequently humid summers and winters that average mild, but vary from hot to cold. Although 46.1 mornings per year fall below freezing, snowfall is extremely rare: between 1971 and 2000 the median was zero and the mean 0.5 inches or 0.013 metres. Temperatures at or below 0 °F or −17.8 °C have occurred only three times on record: December 22, 1929, January 31, 1949 and February 2, 1951, with the second being the coldest at −4 °F or −20 °C. In contrast to these cold spells, February 20 and 21 1986 both reached 94 °F (34.4 °C), February 21 to 24, 1996 saw four successive afternoons over 93 °F (33.9 °C), and January 1943 had three days reach 86 °F or 30 °C.^[23] The absolute hottest temperature has been 112 °F or 44.4 °C on August 23, 1925.

Summer weather is very hot, and can be either dry or humid: 91.6 afternoons reach above 90 °F or 32.2 °C although only 3.6 afternoons reach 100 °F or 37.8 °C. Mostly the summer months are dry as the region is too far east of the monsoonal trough, but remnants of hurricanes tracking inland can produce very heavy rainfall indeed, as in the wettest month of July 2002 when a whopping 28.43 inches (722.1 mm) fell and the first five days as much as 25.47 inches or 646.9 millimetres. The wettest days in Boerne have been October 2, 1913 with 9.04 inches (229.6 mm) and June 22, 1997 with 8.93 inches (226.8 mm). In contrast, no rain fell between June 27 and August 31 of 1993 and only 1.45 inches or 36.8 millimetres between June and August 1910. Winter rain usually occurs via Pacific storms redeveloping over the Gulf of Mexico and directing a moist southeasterly flow: in the extreme case of the winter of 1991/1992 14.42 inches or 366.3 millimetres fell between December 19 and 22 and a total of 29.44 inches (747.8 mm) for the three winter months; however four years later the whole winter saw no more than 0.96 inches (24.4 mm). Overall the wettest calendar year has been 1992 with 64.17 inches (1,629.9 mm) and the driest 1954 with 10.29 inches (261.4 mm), although between July 1991 and June 1992 68.13 inches (1,730.5 mm) was recorded.

Demographics

Boerne Stage Airport

As of the census^[27] of 2000, there were 6,178 people, 2,292 households, and 1,613 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,061.1 people per square mile (409.9/km²). There were 2,466 housing units at an average density of 423.5 per square mile (163.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.76% White, 0.36% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.29% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.44% of the population.

There were 2,292 households out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the city, the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 84.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $80,500 and the median income for a family was $50,903. Males had a median income of $35,039 versus $25,773 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,251. About 6.5% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Boerne, Texas is home to two public high schools and one private high school. Students located south of Texas State Highway 46 attend Boerne Samuel V. Champion High School, a 5A high school named after a well liked administrator for Boerne Independent School District. Opening in 2008, Samuel V. Champion High School is attended by students that matriculate from Boerne Middle School-South.^[28]

Students zoned north of Texas Highway 46 attend Boerne High School. A 4A public high school, Boerne High School is smaller than its peer, Samuel V. Champion. Boerne HS is a well regarded public high school and attended by students that come from Boerne Middle School-North.^[29]

Boerne is also home to the Geneva School of Boerne. Unlike Boerne Champion and Boerne High School, Geneva is a private high school with an annual tuition of $11,235. Geneva competes in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools at the 4A level.^[30]

Attractions

The Marsh Loop Trail Boardwalk at the Cibolo Nature Center.

Hill Country Mile

Created in the early 2010s, the Hill Country Mile is a 1.1 mile long walking path following River Road Park and historic Main Street.^[31] The path was created as a catalyst to unify and preserve the rich cultural identity of downtown Boerne. It was also created to increase and foster economic growth through downtown shopping and culture centers.

Cibolo Nature Center

Cibolo Nature Center (CNC) comprises over 100 acres of Hill Country trails and wilderness. The center was first opened to the public on Earth Day in 1990 after founder Carolyn Chipman Evans urged the City of Boerne to preserve marshland around Boerne City Park. CNC is maintained through a 501c3 non-profit organization called The Friends of the Cibolo Wilderness. Trails are open every day from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. City Park is in a unique natural setting as it shares a border with Cibolo Creek.^[32]

Nearby attractions

San Antonio is only 15 minutes away and is home to attractions such as Fiesta Texas, Sea World, The Alamo, the River Walk, La Cantera, and the Rim.

Notable people

• Michelle Beadle – TV sports personality
• Jacobs Crawley - rodeo world champion
• Susan Howard - actress; "Dallas" (1979-1987)
• Maggie Lindemann – singer/songwriter
• Cheryl Ladd - actress; "Charlie's Angels" (1977-1981)^[33]
• Jerry McKenna - Sculptor "The Lincoln-Douglas Debate" (1995) and author "A THIRD LIFE" (2011)
• Grace Phipps – actress; Fright Night (2011), The Nine Lives of Chloe King (2011), The Vampire Diaries (2012), Teen Beach Movie (2013), and Teen Beach 2 (2015).
• Jimmy Walker (golfer) – PGA Tour Golfer

See also

• Herff-Rozelle Farm
• Kendall County Courthouse and Jail

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Boerne, Texas.

• City of Boerne
• Boerne Chamber of Commerce
• Boerne Berges Fest
• Boerne Convention & Visitors Bureau
• MainStreetBoerne.com
• Boerne Public Library
• Cascade Caverns
• Cibolo Nature Center
• Boerne from the Handbook of Texas Online

Municipalities and communities of Kendall County, Texas, United States
County seat: Boerne
Cities	Boerne Fair Oaks Ranch‡
CDP	Comfort
Unincorporated communities	Bergheim Kendalia Lindendale Nelson City Sisterdale Waring
Ghost towns	Ammans Crossing Bankersmith Currey's Creek Welfare
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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