Page 24 - 2025 Comfort Chamber Membership Directory

the history of KendAll County
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Bankersmith communities developed as a result of the railroad construction, and established towns such as Boerne and Comfort thrived on the increased economic activity. By 1900 the population of the county had increased to 4,103, and the ethnic makeup was changing. In 1870, 25% of the population were native Germans, 3% were from other European countries, 6.5% were black, and 2% were native Mexicans. The remaining 63%were either native to Texas or had come from other states. New immigrants arrived from England in the 1880’s and 1890’s, and from Mexico shortly after the turn of the century. By the 1930’s Mexican Americans represented more than 11% of the county’s population. In the early 1980’s 40% of the county’s 10,635 residents were of German descent, 25% were English, 20% were Irish, 13% were Hispanic, and less than .25% were black.
In 1990 Kendall County had 542 farms, and the amount of land in farms had more than doubled, rising from 153,921 acres in 1880 to 339,653 in 1900, the average farm size had increased from 367 to 626 acres. Stock raising was still the principal industry. By 1900 the county had nearly 20,000 cattle and 8,600 sheep. The wool and mohair industry had also been introduced to the area, and although the county had only 2,048 goats in 1900, their numbers increased rapidly so that by 1920 the county had 13,626 goats. The planting of eld crops also became a popular venture. From the 1880s through the mid-1920s, the cotton industry commanded several thousand acres
a year and kept a number of cotton gins in business. By the 1920s, however, corn and oats had eclipsed cotton, proving to be more pro table for an economy that was based on livestock. Some of the corn and oats were used locally as feed, and the rest was put on the San Antonio market. Kendall County had almost completely abandoned the cotton industry by the mid-1920s. The Great Depression of the 1930s reinforced the shift away from cotton and brought an increase in farm tenancy. From the 1880s through 1930 tenants had represented less than one- fth of the country’s farmers. Between 1930 and 1940, however, the number of farms run by tenants rose from 130 to 171, or nearly one-quarter of the country’s farms. Many businesses in Boerne were forced to close, and residents had to leave to look for work. The population of Kendall County as a whole showed a new increase of only 110 residents during these years, rising to 5,080 by 1940.
American involvement in both World Wars brought new industries to neighboring Bexar County. The presence of several large military bases in the San Antonio area meant an increased demand for civilian support services. Many Kendall County residents joined the military or took advantage of the availability of nearby jobs. Rail service to Fredericksburg had been discontinued in the late 1930’s and the materials given over to the war e ort, but the county’s rail link with San Antonio remained. In the 1950’s many aspects of life in Kendall County settled back into the accustomed routine. Wool and mohair production continued to increase, with 414,160 pounds and 197,171 pounds, respectively, being marketed. The average farm size rose to 562 acres, as many smaller tenant farms were absorbed by larger ranching operations. One important di erence in post- war Kendall County was a shift in the urban/ rural balance of the population. Before 1940 residents of Boerne and Comfort made up less than 40 percent of the county’s total population and the majority of residents lived in small rural communities or on farms. In the 1950s the ratio began to change, and by 1960 nearly 60 percent
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