Bend, Texas
Unincorporated community in Lampasas County, San Saba County · Not an incorporated municipality
About Bend
Bend is an unincorporated community in Lampasas and San Saba Counties in western Central Texas. Its population was 1,678 as of the 2010 census.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How Bend is governed
Bend appears to be an unincorporated community or a census-designated place, so it may have no city government of its own — services usually come from Lampasas County, San Saba County and its elected officials. The chart below is a generic template; readers can correct it if Bend does have local officials.
Form of government not yet listed.
0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.
Residents of Bend
Registered voters elect the officials below.
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Mayor
Executive
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The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.
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City Manager / Administrator
Executive
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The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).
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Police Chief
Administration & departments
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Leads the police department.
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Fire Chief
Administration & departments
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Leads the fire and emergency services department.
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Public Works Director
Administration & departments
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Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.
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Finance Director
Administration & departments
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The budget, taxes, and city accounts.
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Planning & Zoning Director
Administration & departments
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Land use, zoning, building permits.
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Parks & Recreation Director
Administration & departments
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Parks, programs, and public facilities.
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City Council
Legislative
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The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.
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City Clerk
Administration & departments
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Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.
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City Attorney
Administration & departments
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The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.
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Boards & Commissions
Legislative
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Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.
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Municipal Court
Judicial
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Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.
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Municipal Judge
Judicial
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Presides over the municipal court.
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History
Settlement of the area began in the mid-19th century by farmers. In 1854, the community took the name Schleicher's Bend, after an early settler Gustav Schleicher. Other early settlers included the Low brothers. By 1856, it was called McAnelly's Bend after Robert Daugherty McAnelly, a landowner on the Lampasas side of the river. The community exists on both sides of the Colorado River, the Lampasas (west) side of the river is known locally as "Little Bend".
When the application for a post office on the San Saba side of the river was made in the late 1870s, the names Little Breeches and Bend were submitted; the Bend Post Office opened in 1879 and has continuously operated ever since. Bend had a population of around 400 in 1890. For most of the 20th century, however, the community recorded 100 to 125 residents.
Bend eventually developed during the 1870s and 1880s, with a gristmill, cotton gin, and general store serving farmers in the area. Three churches opened here in the 1880s. A justice of the peace courthouse, a constabulary, craft shops, mercantile stores, and a hotel were in operation in 1890. Corn, cotton, and cattle were the most common commodities shipped by area farmers. The community's population was 115 from 1990 through 2000, with two businesses.
Three miles south of Bend, the Victorian resort and spa of Sulphur Springs fell into disuse during the Great Depression, but was revived in the 1980s as a fishing resort on the Colorado River.
In the early 20th century, extensive pecan orchards were planted in the area. By the midcentury, the Hollis native pecan had become the region's cash crop. Bend boosters consider the 'Jumbo Hollis', a tree whose name is derived from its unusually large nuts and its first owner, Thomas I. Hollis, to be the world's most productive pecan tree. When other native pecan trees averaged 70 to 80 nuts per pound, Jumbo's averaged 33. At the 1904 World's Fair, 'Jumbo Hollis' pecans won the bronze medal for being the largest displayed. The tree's record year was 1919, producing 1,015 pounds of nuts.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.