Brenham

History

The area surrounding Brenham was occupied by various Native American tribes through the 19th century. The Brenham area was part of the Old Three Hundred, the first authorized colonization of Texas by Anglo-Americans led by Stephen F. Austin. In the 1820s and 1830s, several small communities developed in the area. In 1843, the Hickory Grove community was renamed Brenham in memory of a local physician, Richard Fox Brenham, who died while serving in the Texian militia during the Mier Expedition. On February 4, 1844, Washington County voters selected Brenham to become the county seat. German immigrants settled in Brenham as early as 1846. With the exception of the Civil War years, the German-born population of Brenham increased throughout the second half of the 19th century. The largest numbers of German immigrants arrived between 1880 and 1883. Jewish immigrants to Brenham established one of Texas' first Orthodox synagogues in 1885, which was relocated to Austin in 2015.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.8 square miles (22.7 km2), all land. The climate in this area is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The Köppen climate classification describes the weather as humid subtropical, Cfa.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,169
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  3,481
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  3,416
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  2,576
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,472
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,314
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,314
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,232

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2024-04-02
  4 km SSW of Round Top, Texas
• M 2.6 — 2021-08-24
  3 km NNW of Hallettsville, Texas
• M 2.9 — 2017-10-20
  5 km W of Flatonia, Texas
• M 3.1 — 2015-02-19
  3 km N of Hallettsville, Texas
• M 2.7 — 2007-09-15
  11 km ENE of Milano, Texas