College Station

Sister cities

• Kazan

History

College Station's origins date from 1860, when the Houston and Texas Central Railway began to build through the region. Eleven years later, the site was chosen as the location for the proposed Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, a land-grant school. (the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company abandoned the line in 1965), and 10 years later, electric interurban service was established between Texas A&M and the neighboring town of Bryan. with John H. Binney as the first mayor. Within a year, the city established a zoning commission, and by 1940, the population had reached 2,184. The city grew under the leadership of Ernest Langford, called by some the "Father of College Station", who began a 26-year stretch as mayor in 1942. Early in his first term, the city adopted a council-manager system of city government. Population growth accelerated following World War II as the nonstudent population reached 7,898 in 1950, 11,396 in 1960, 17,676 in 1970, 30,449 in 1980, 52,456 in 1990, and 67,890 in 2000. The Bryan-College Station metropolitan area's population crossed 270,000 people in 2018. In the 1990s, College Station and Texas A&M University drew national attention when the George Bush Presidential Library opened in 1997. Attention was drawn again in 1999, when 12 people were killed and 27 injured when the Aggie Bonfire collapsed while being constructed. In 2022, it became one of the first areas served by Amazon's Prime Air drone delivery service, along with Lockeford, California.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and , or 0.35%, is covered by water. College Station has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa). Winters are mild with periods of low temperatures usually lasting less than two months, while summers are hot and humid. Snow and ice are rare; most recently, College Station received three to five inches of snowfall on February 15, 2021. Summers are hot and humid, with occasional showers and thunderstorms being the only real variation in weather. Precipitation and rainfall ranges from to . Northgate is a mixed-use district north of Texas A&M University that features a combination of businesses, restaurants, apartments, churches, and entertainment. It is known for its eclectic mix of restaurants and bars. A large portion of the stores, bars, and restaurants in Northgate are frequented, patronized, and staffed by Texas A&M students. Live music is a major draw to the Northgate area. Many well-known musicians, especially in the Texas country music scene, initially performed in the Northgate area. Notable names include Robert Earl Keen, Grammy award-winner Lyle Lovett, Dub Miller, and Roger Creager. The district is bisected to the north by Church Street, made famous by the Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett duet "The Front Porch Song". Wellborn became a community in 1867 as a construction camp on the Houston and Texas Central Railroad. The town's name has been attributed to a well at the construction camp, a foreman named E.W. Wellborn, or a landowner named W.W. Willburn. Also in 1867, a post office opened in the community under the name Wellborn Station. In 1870, the name was shortened to Wellborn. On April 14, 2011, the City Council of College Station voted 5–2 to annex…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  18,315
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,084
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  13,294
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,238
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  13,069
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,472
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  8,369
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,145

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
• JANE LONG
  Middle · BRYAN · 998 students · 11.9:1 ratio
• ILTEXAS COLLEGE STATION EL
  Elementary · COLLEGE STATION · 946 students · 16:1 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