Bryan

Sister cities

• Kazan

History

The area around Bryan was part of a land grant to Moses Austin by Spain. Austin's son, Stephen F. Austin, helped bring settlers to the area. Among the settlers was William Joel Bryan, the nephew of Stephen Austin. In 1866, the county seat of Brazos County was changed from Boonville to Bryan, and a post office was opened. In 1867, after many delays caused by the Civil War, the Houston and Texas Central Railroad, which had only previously gotten as far as Millican, finally reached Bryan. A short time later, in 1871, the city of Bryan became incorporated. Just south of Bryan, the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas opened in 1876 in what would later be known as College Station. The following year, 1877 saw the establishment of the Bryan Independent School District. Keeping up with progress in the rest of the country, Bryan added electric lighting and a waterworks to its community in 1889. The fifth Brazos County courthouse was built in 1892, and by the turn of the century, in 1900, the International-Great Northern Railroad stopped in Bryan. Using a generous grant of $10,000 from Andrew Carnegie, the Carnegie Library of Bryan opened its doors in 1902. A bell, made in 1905 and rung in 1918 to signal the end of World War I, is still located out front today. In 1910, the town built an interurban railroad to College Station. By 1923, the line was abandoned. The first Jewish place of worship, the Temple Freda synagogue, was opened in 1913. During the 1930s, the town of North Oakwood merged with Bryan. Now Bryan and College Station are "twin" cities. In 1936, State Highway 6 was built, running right through town. In 2006, the Texas A&M University System announced that the new Texas A&M Health Science Center campus would be built in Bryan near the new Traditions Golf…

Geography

Bryan is located northwest of the center of Brazos County. It is bordered to the southeast by the city of College Station and to the northwest by the unincorporated community of Lake Bryan. The Brazos River flows past approximately nine miles to the southwest. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.20%, is water. The local climate is humid subtropical and temperate, and winters are mild with periods of low temperatures usually lasting less than two months. Snow and ice are extremely rare. Summers are warm and hot with occasional showers being the only real variation in weather.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,083
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  16,320
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  15,310
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,680
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  14,465
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,165
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,782
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  9,042

Largest nearby schools

• TRAVIS B BRYAN H S
  High · BRYAN · 2,419 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• A & M CONS H S
  High · COLLEGE STATION · 2,139 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• COLLEGE STATION H S
  High · COLLEGE STATION · 2,134 students · 15.4:1 ratio
• JAMES EARL RUDDER H S
  High · BRYAN · 1,769 students · 13.8:1 ratio
• STEPHEN F AUSTIN
  Middle · BRYAN · 1,206 students · 13.3:1 ratio
• SAM RAYBURN
  Middle · BRYAN · 1,173 students · 13.8:1 ratio
• ARTHUR L DAVILA MIDDLE
  Middle · BRYAN · 1,044 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• JANE LONG
  Middle · BRYAN · 998 students · 11.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2026-06-04
  7 km NE of Marquez, Texas
• M 3.4 — 2026-06-04
  8 km ENE of Marquez, Texas
• M 2.5 — 2024-04-02
  4 km SSW of Round Top, Texas
• M 2.7 — 2007-09-15
  11 km ENE of Milano, Texas