Formed January 1, 1856 (102nd county)
Bandera County (20,485), Bandera (857)
The old towered Second Renaissance Revival courthouse, built in 1890, dominates the landscape in this small hill community. After the county was organized on January 1, 1856, the city of Bandera has been the site for the two courthouses. The county was formed from Bexar County as the 102nd county. The building sits east of Texas State Highways 16 and 173 as they pass north and south through town. The architect for this limestone building was B. F. Trester. The structure was enlarged in 1966. Bandera, Spanish for “flag or banner,” gives name to a range of local hills and the famous Bandera Pass. This pass was the site of battles between Texas Rangers and Comanches.
Bandera County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners. One District Court Judge serves Bandera and Kerr counties and One County Court Judge serves Bandera County. The county is situated in south central Texas’s hill country just north of San Antonio, Texas. The county center is 18.5 miles West of Bandera nearer Medina. The county is surrounded clockwise by Kerr, Kendall, Bexar, Medina, Uvalde, and Real counties.
The area of the county is 798 square miles. It is 206 out of 254 in the state. It ranks 115 out of 254 in population in the state. It has a density of 25.67 persons per square mile making it 108 out of 254 in the state. Bandera County has 4.2% of its population in its incorporated areas. There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county. The county is rectangle shaped and Bandera is slightly south and east of the center. Bandera is the county seat and, as the only incorporated city, it is the largest city. The county and county seat are pronounced BAN-DEER-A. This county is in the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Bandera
