Bandera

History

Bandera was founded in 1855 by Polish Roman Catholic immigrants from the Province of Silesia. They built St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, and many local residents are descended from them. Bandera was a staging area on the Great Western Cattle Trail, during the late 19th century. The Cabaret Dance Hall opened in 1936. Throughout its history, the dance hall hosted Bob Wills, Doug Sahm, Ernest Tubb, and others. In 2008, the hall was listed as endangered by Preservation Texas. By at least 2013, the hall was closed, Bandera hosts a three-day Cowboy Mardi Gras that attracts over 15,000 people from all over the world to the town. Bandera had eight surveillance cameras from Flock Safety, but after an uproar in 2026 during several city council meetings, and cameras repeatedly being cut from their poles, the council voted to terminate their contract with Flock. After the vote, a councilman who had supported Flock sarcastically proposed "returning to 1880" and banning internet service and mobile phones in the city in the name of privacy.

Geography

Bandera is located in east-central Bandera County, northwest of downtown San Antonio, on the Medina River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which (about 5 acres or 0.55%) is covered by water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,904
• Black-crested Titmouse

  Baeolophus atricristatus (Cassin, 1850) · Aves
  1,684
• White-winged Dove

  Zenaida asiatica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,272
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  1,242
• Bewick's Wren

  Thryomanes bewickii (Audubon, 1827) · Aves
  1,044
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  1,041
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  985
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  954

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2026-10-11
  7 km E of Pearsall, Texas
• M 2.6 — 2026-10-05
  12 km ESE of Pearsall, Texas
• M 2.6 — 2026-10-02
  16 km ESE of Pearsall, Texas
• M 2.6 — 2026-09-30
  16 km ESE of Pearsall, Texas
• M 2.8 — 2026-09-26
  17 km W of Charlotte, Texas
• M 2.7 — 2026-09-26
  16 km ESE of Pearsall, Texas