Email: info@HillCountryPortal.com Web: www.HillCountryPortal.com

A Powerful Information Database & Gateway Service for the Texas Hill Country

REFERENCES

ALAMOSA WINE CELLARS: 325-628-3313; 677 CR 430, Bend, TX 76824; www.alamosawinecellars.com; Fri-Sat 10-5; Sun 12-5; or by appt. Sangiovese, Viognier, Tempranillo and Syrah. Specialize in Mediterranean style wines made exclusively with Texas grapes. Wines include Texas Port, Orange Muscat and Texas Sherry. Complimentary tasting. Open til 9p on the 4th Fri for Picnic Night with live local music. Gift shop, gourmet items, picnic area, veranda and scenic setting on the Colorado River. Owners: Karen & Tim Johnson. wine@alamosawinecellars.com. Directions: 3 mi W of Bend on Hwy 580 between Lampasas and San Saba.

NEARBY & HILL COUNTRY-WIDE ATTRACTIONS: See Attractions.

Some of the very nearby attractions include:
Lake Buchanan (see Lakes), Fall Creek Vineyard (Tow)

PARKS: There are many state and LCRA parks in the greater area as profiled on the Parks page. These nearby parks include:

COLORADO BEND STATE PARK: 5,328 acres above Lake Buchanan, at 1025 ft elevation, opened in 1987. This park offers a wide spectrum of outdoor recreational opportunities including fishing, boating, hiking, mountain biking, guided nature and caving tours, bird watching, mineral study, and photography. Among the parks "specialty items," are its crystal-clear creeks dammed along their length with striking growths of travertine, a mineral precipitate from calcium-carbonate rich waters.

Primitive tent camping and RV camping. 16 mi of hiking trails and 14 mi of mountain bike trails. When Lake Buchanan is near normal levels, the river is navigable from the park's boat ramp all the way to the lake, for 10 mi. This is a trip on slow moving water through the beautiful canyon lands of the Colorado. Other activities include guided tours to Gorman Falls on Saturdays. Gorman Falls is also accessible by a day-use hiking trail. The trail length is 4 mi round trip. The park also offers guided walking wild cave tours and self guided crawling cave explorations. Due to hazards in the caves such as low oxygen levels and poisonous gases and the fact that the caves are a non-renewable natural resource, All caves in the park are closed except through tour or special permit. Reservations are highly recommended for the cave tours due to the limited number of people which can be taken on any given tour.

Location: In San Saba County, W of Lampasas, SE of San Saba, on FM 580, in Bend, TX 76824. See web site for detailed directions into the park. 915-628-3240; www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/colorado_bend

Local city parks include: None

EVENT CALENDAR: For details on each event, see: Festivals

WEATHER: Weather Underground

MEDIA COVERAGE:

On-Line Latest News: Topix (not available)

Newspaper: None

MAPS: Google; GeoHack (not available)

HISTORY: Handbook of Texas Online: " . . at a horseshoe-shaped bend in the Colorado River fourteen miles southeast of San Saba in southeastern San Saba and western Lampasas counties, developed in the nineteenth century as a supply and processing center for farmers. The area was originally settled in 1854 by three Low brothers from Tennessee, David Donald, James Milton, and William, and first named Schleicher's Bend, after Gustav Schleicher. By 1856 it was called McAnelly's Bend, for Robert Daugherty McAnelly, a landowner on the Lampasas side of the river. A post office under the latter name opened on the east side of the river in 1858 but was discontinued sometime after 1861. When application for a post office on the San Saba side of the river was made in the late 1870s, the names Little Breeches and Bend were submitted; the Bend post office opened in 1879 in the home of Seth Martin Moore, the local ferry operator, and has operated continuously since.

The town developed in the 1870s and 1880s, as a gristmill, cotton gin, and general store were established to meet the needs of local farmers and cattlemen. The first school on the San Saba side of the Colorado River was organized in 1872 near the mouth of Cherokee Creek, and by the 1880s Baptist, Methodist, and Christian churches had opened. In 1890 the community had a reported 400 residents, a justice of the peace precinct, a constabulary, craft shops, mercantile stores, and a hotel. For most of the twentieth century, however, Bend has recorded 100 to 125 residents. Corn, cotton, and cattle provided the initial basis for local commerce. In the late nineteenth century the pecan industry also became commercially important. After 1920 extensive pecan orchards were planted, and by midcentury the Hollis native pecan had become the region's primary cash crop. Bend boosters consider the Jumbo Hollis, which stands near the banks of the Colorado River, to be the world's most productive pecan tree. It is claimed that the tree yields nuts of extraordinary size and that in 1919 it produced more than 1,000 pounds. The tree is named for its first known owner, Thomas I. Hollis. In 1990 Bend reported a population of 115 and two businesses. In 2000 the population remained the same and four businesses were reported."

PRIOR NAMES: Schleicher's Bend (1854), McAnelly's Bend (1856)

NATIONAL REGISTRY SITES:

CEMETERIES: Many nearby

AVAILABLE SERVICES: Gas: no; Convenience Stores: yes; Restaurants: at convenience store; Lodging: no; Grocery Stores: no; Banks: no; Vehicle Repair: no; Hospital: no; Med Clinic: no; Post Office: yes; Public Schools: no; Cemetery: yes

OTHER PROFILES: Wikipedia; ePodunk (not available); City Data (not available); Texas Escapes; Travel Texas (not available)

NOTES:

(We welcome submission of updates, additions, corrections and digital photos, without compensation.)

BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION DIRECTORY

BAD BOB'S BEND STORE: FM 580, Bend, TX. Convenience store, hunting, fishing, camping supplies; and famous "Bad Bob's" burgers. Sunday Jam Session 2-5p.

BAREFOOT CAMP & RV PARK: 325-628-3395; FM 580, Bend, TX. On Colorado River, 3 mi E of Bend, on a working cattle ranch. 38 pull-through spaces. Boating, fishing, tubing, swimming. www.Centex.net/~barefoot, barefoot@centex.net

BEND CHURCH OF CHRIST: Bend, TX

BEND COMMUNITY CENTER: 325-628-3525; 112 CR 438, Bend, TX; www.badbonsbendstore.com; badbobsbendstore@yahoo.com

BEND UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: 325-628-3599; 14130 FR 580, Bend, TX

CHEROKEE CREEK VINEYARD; 325-628-3285; Bend, TX. grape grower; vineyard consulting & management

(THE) CREEK COTTAGE BED & BREAKFAST: 325-628-3280; CR 436 ~ Colorado Bend State Park Rd., Bend, TX. pmbm@centex.net

HIGH VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCH: SR 501, Bend, TX

SULPHUR SPRINGS CAMP: 325-628-3252; 2935 CR 446, Bend, TX 76824; On Colorado River, fishing, tubing, swimming, spring-fed swimming pool, wildlife, camp store. Day use, tent camping, and cabins. Closed Nov-Dec. Next to Colorado Bend State Park. www.bendtexas.com; sales@bendtexas.com

SANDY ROAD GUEST HAUS:

An Upscale Western-style Guest House Bed & Breakfast in a Beautiful Ranch Setting in the Gorgeous Texas Hill Country

B&B Reservations & Information: 281-300-7177
9242 RR 1320 (Sandy Road), Johnson City, TX 78636

Web: www.SandyRoadGuestHaus.com
Email: info@SandyRoadGuestHaus.com

Come Relax & Enjoy!

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