In 1831, the Mexican government granted of land to Kesiah Crier. Crier's family and the James Lyons family were the first white settlers in the area. The town of Schulenburg developed from two nearby communities: Lyons, founded in 1842, and High Hill, settled in 1842 and later named in 1858. In 1873, the Galveston, Harris and San Antonio Railroad bought land in the area, then built a depot on the portion formerly owned by Louis Schulenburg, naming it after him. The first train arrived on New Year's Eve of 1873, and the town was formally incorporated on May 24, 1875. Many of the early settlers to Schulenburg and the surrounding area were of German, Austrian and Czech descent, and the area still shows evidence of their culture. Local bakeries are noted for their kolaches, a Czech pastry. Other immigrants of Jewish descent also made Schulenburg their home, and many of them became merchants. The town is the home of Stanzel Flying Models, makers of wire-controlled and free-flight model airplanes for nearly 70 years.
Geography
Schulenburg is located in southern Fayette County at , on high ground east of the Navidad River. U.S. Route 90 passes through the center of town as Summit Street, leading east to Weimar and west to Flatonia. U.S. Route 77 crosses US 90 in the center of Schulenburg, following Kessler Avenue. US 77 leads north to La Grange, the Fayette County seat, and south to Victoria. Interstate 10 passes through the northern extent of Schulenburg, with access from Exit 674. Often considered the halfway point between Houston and San Antonio, I-10 leads east to the center of Houston and west to the center of San Antonio. According to the United States Census Bureau, Schulenburg has a total area of, all of it land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,699 people, 1,052 households, and 655 families residing in the city. The population density was 427.1/km. There were 1,226 housing units at an average density of 194.0/km. The racial makeup of the city was 76.29% White, 15.45% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 6.04% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.56% of the population. There were 1,052 households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were married couplesliving together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.96. In the city, the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 27.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,619, and the median income for a family was $36,326. Males had a median income of $26,111 versus $20,549 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,784. About 6.9% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.
Schulenburg is served by one local newspaper, The Schulenburg Sticker. The Sticker was founded by German immigrant Ernst Goeth and has been in continuous publication since 1894.
