Schulenburg is a city in

Fayette County, Texas Fayette County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 24,435. Its county seat is La Grange, Texas, La Grange. The county was created in 1837 a ...

, United States. Its population was 2,633 at the 2020 census. Known for its

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

culture, Schulenburg is home of the Texas Polka Music Museum. It is in a rural, agricultural area settled by German and Czech emigrants in the 1800s.

History

In 1831, the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

government granted of land to Kesiah Crier. Crier's family and the James Lyons family were the first European-American settlers in the area. The town of Schulenburg developed from two nearby communities: Lyons, founded in 1842, and High Hill, settled in 1842 and later named in 1858. In 1873, the Galveston, Harris and San Antonio Railroad bought land in the area. They built a depot on the portion formerly owned by Louis Schulenburg, and named it after him. The first train arrived on New Year's Eve of 1873, and the town was formally incorporated on May 24, 1875. Many of the early settlers to Schulenburg and the surrounding area were immigrants of German,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n, and

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

descent, who came after the revolutions of 1848 in Europe. The area still shows evidence of their cultures. For instance, local bakeries are noted for their

kolach Kolach is the Slavonic term for a number of traditional baked products, such as: * Kolach (bread), a circular bread, most often made as a sweet dish * Slavski kolač, a Serbian variant of the kolach, made for the celebration of Slava *Kolach (cake) ...

es, a Czech pastry. Jewish immigrants also made Schulenburg their home, and many of them became merchants. Initially from Germany in the mid-19th century, they were later joined by immigrants from Eastern Europe.

Geography

Schulenburg is located in southern Fayette County on high ground east of the

Navidad River The Navidad River is a -long coastal river in the U.S. state of Texas that runs roughly parallel to its sister river, the Lavaca River. It is not spring fed, and all of its volume is runoff, which eventually provides for much of the water in La ...

. It is approximately 95 miles west of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas and 100 miles east of

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Schulenburg has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, 2,633 people, 964 households, and 600 families resided in the city. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, 2,699 people, 1,052 households, and 655 families lived in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . The 1,226 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 76.29% White, 15.45% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 6.08% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 13.56% of the population. Of the 1,052 households, 26.8% had children under 18 living with them, 46.9% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were not families. About 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.7% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.32, and the average family size was 2.96. In the city, the age distribution was 21.7% under 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 27.6% who were 65 or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.0 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 76.0 males. The

median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of unde ...

for a household in the city was $27,619, and for a family was $36,326. Males had a median income of $26,111 versus $20,549 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $15,784. About 6.9% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.

Climate

Education

The city is served by the Schulenburg Independent School District and is home to the Schulenburg Shorthorns. St. Rose of Lima Catholic School (prekindergarten through grade 8) operates under the guidance of the Diocese of Victoria. Other educational institutions include a campus of

Blinn College Blinn College is a public junior college in Brenham, Texas, with additional campuses in Bryan, Schulenburg, Sealy, and Waller. Brenham is Blinn's original and main campus, with housing and athletics. History Blinn was founded in 1884 as Mi ...

, a public junior college.

Media

Schulenburg is served by one local newspaper, ''The Schulenburg Sticker'', which was founded by German immigrant Ernst Goeth and has been in continuous publication since 1894.

Infrastructure

Schulenburg is located at the general convergence of three major US highways:

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

U.S. Route 77 U.S. Route 77 (US 77) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway which extends for in the central United States. As of 2005, Its southern terminus is in Brownsville, Texas, at Veteran's International Bridge on the U.S.-Mexico borde ...

and

U.S. Route 90 U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. It generally travels near Int ...

. The two US routes form the central intersection of the street, and I-10 flows just north of the city center.

Notable people

* Willis Adams, former

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

Hugo Hollas Hugo Andrew Hollas (November 30, 1945September 6, 1995) was an American football Safety (American football position), safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers. He also was a member of the San ...

, former NFL player for the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers *

E. J. Holub Emil Joseph Holub (January 5, 1938 – September 21, 2019) was an American football center and linebacker in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs. He played college f ...

, former NFL player for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. *

Lora Lee Michel Lora Lee Michel (born Virginia Joy Willeford, September 13, 1940) is an American former child actress. She appeared in several feature films during the Golden Age of Hollywood in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1950, she was the focus of a cus ...

(born 1940), American child actor *

Joe Mikulik Joseph Mikulik ( ), born October 30, 1963, in Weimar, Texas, is the manager of the Texas Tailgaters. He is a former minor league baseball player, coach, and manager. As an outfielder, he never rose above Triple-A but was a key player in the Tucso ...

, minor league baseball manager and player

References

External links

City of Schulenburg official website

Greater Schulenburg Chamber of Commerce

Texas State Historical Association
{{authority control Austrian-American culture in Texas Cities in Fayette County, Texas Cities in Texas Czech-American culture in Texas German-American culture in Texas Schulenburg family