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Waller County, Texas

68 topographic sheets cover 21 settlements here, and 7 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

7 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Texas within the United States
Waller County within Texas
Explore by year 1879 1897

What the record shows

  • 218 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 7 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 7 buildings.
  • 1 of the 7 listings was added during the 1970s.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 21 populated places in this county; 21 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

7

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Photograph PropertyType ListedReference
L.C. Anderson Hallbuilding199999000611
W.R. Banks Librarybuilding199999000612
Annie Laurie Evans Hallbuilding199999000613
Hilliard Hallbuilding199999000614
Liendo Plantationbuilding197171000970
Veterninary Hospitalbuilding199999000617
G.R. Woolfolk Social and Political Science Buildingbuilding199999000616

Bird's-eye views and land ownership maps

2

Drawn when these were printed as single large sheets: the town seen from the air, and the county divided into its farms with every owner named. Each opens the original at the Library of Congress.

Land ownership map, 1879 - Waller County, Texas
Land ownership map (1879) - Waller County, Texas. Library of Congress.
Land ownership map, 1897 - Waller County
Land ownership map (1897) - Waller County. Library of Congress.

Photographs from libraries nationwide

1 shown

Selected from the Digital Public Library of America's 1 image records catalogued for this county. Every one shown here carries a public-domain status or a licence that permits reuse on a site that carries advertising; non-commercial, share-alike and restricted images are excluded. The selection is spread across the county's towns (at most eight per town), so no single institution's bulk upload crowds out the rest. Each opens the holding library's record, and the complete set at the Digital Public Library of America is one click away.

Central Island Restaurant, Fulton Ave. & Merrick Ave., East Hempstead, L. I., N. Y., Boston Public Library - undated
Central Island Restaurant, Fulton Ave. & Merrick Ave., East Hempstead, L. I., N. Y.. Boston Public Library, via the Digital Public Library of America.

The county from the air

43 shown

Flown by the U.S. Geological Survey between 1937 and 1989, the Aerial Photo Single Frames collection is the definitive mid-century view of the land: fields, roads and rivers as the camera saw them. The Survey holds 1,504 frames inside the rectangle that bounds this county; the 43 frames below were taken over the county itself, chosen across the decades of flights (at most four a year from that rectangle), so one flight cannot crowd out the rest. The full set is free to browse and download at EarthExplorer under the dataset Aerial Photo Single Frames.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1952-12-11, scale 1:69000
1952-12-11, scale 1:69000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1952-12-11, scale 1:69000
1952-12-11, scale 1:69000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1952-12-11, scale 1:69000
1952-12-11, scale 1:69000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1952-12-11, scale 1:69000
1952-12-11, scale 1:69000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1953-01-24, scale 1:69000
1953-01-24, scale 1:69000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1953-01-24, scale 1:69000
1953-01-24, scale 1:69000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1953-01-24, scale 1:69000
1953-01-24, scale 1:69000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1953-01-24, scale 1:69000
1953-01-24, scale 1:69000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1958-01-01, scale 1:28000
1958-01-01, scale 1:28000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1958-01-01, scale 1:28000
1958-01-01, scale 1:28000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1958-01-01, scale 1:28000
1958-01-01, scale 1:28000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1958-01-01, scale 1:28000
1958-01-01, scale 1:28000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1960-03-03, scale 1:18500
1960-03-03, scale 1:18500. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1960-03-03, scale 1:18500
1960-03-03, scale 1:18500. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1960-03-03, scale 1:18500
1960-03-03, scale 1:18500. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1960-03-03, scale 1:18500
1960-03-03, scale 1:18500. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1970-01-07, scale 1:118099
1970-01-07, scale 1:118099. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1970-01-07, scale 1:122453
1970-01-07, scale 1:122453. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1970-01-07, scale 1:122453
1970-01-07, scale 1:122453. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1970-01-07, scale 1:121527
1970-01-07, scale 1:121527. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-11-11, scale 1:119407
1971-11-11, scale 1:119407. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-11-11, scale 1:119407
1971-11-11, scale 1:119407. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-11-11, scale 1:119407
1971-11-11, scale 1:119407. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-11-11, scale 1:119070
1971-11-11, scale 1:119070. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1972-04-18, scale 1:121521
1972-04-18, scale 1:121521. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1972-04-18, scale 1:121521
1972-04-18, scale 1:121521. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1972-04-18, scale 1:122189
1972-04-18, scale 1:122189. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1972-04-18, scale 1:123821
1972-04-18, scale 1:123821. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1977-03-28, scale 1:80000
1977-03-28, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1977-03-28, scale 1:80000
1977-03-28, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1977-03-28, scale 1:80000
1977-03-28, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1977-03-28, scale 1:80000
1977-03-28, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1982-02-28, scale 1:65000
1982-02-28, scale 1:65000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1982-02-28, scale 1:65000
1982-02-28, scale 1:65000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1982-02-28, scale 1:65000
1982-02-28, scale 1:65000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1982-02-28, scale 1:62666
1982-02-28, scale 1:62666. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1989-12-04, scale 1:65000
1989-12-04, scale 1:65000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1989-12-04, scale 1:65000
1989-12-04, scale 1:65000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1989-12-04, scale 1:65000
1989-12-04, scale 1:65000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1989-12-04, scale 1:65000
1989-12-04, scale 1:65000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1993-03-03, scale 1:61000
1993-03-03, scale 1:61000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1993-03-03, scale 1:61000
1993-03-03, scale 1:61000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1993-03-03, scale 1:60500
1993-03-03, scale 1:60500. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

Weather records

7 stations, 1 gage

The thermometers that kept this county's weather, and the gages that measured the flow of its streams, as the federal records hold them. The extremes below are measured values from those records, not estimates.

The 1950 census, district by district

17 districts

Who lived here in 1950, one enumeration district at a time, as the Census Bureau described each district. Each row opens its official National Archives result, with Population Schedules and ED Maps available there.

  • 237-1Justice Precinct 1: Hempstead town: Hempstead town - That part north of Main
  • 237-2Hempstead town - That part south of Main
  • 237-3Justice Precinct 1 - That part north of the Texas & New Orleans Railway, outside Hempstead town
  • 237-4Justice Precinct 1 - That part south of the Texas & New Orleans Railway, outside Hempstead town
  • 237-5Justice Precinct 2
  • 237-6Justice Precinct 3
  • 237-7Justice Precinct 4: Justice Precinct 4 - That part east of Brookshire - Pattison - Monaville Rd., and State Highway 359
  • 237-8Justice Precinct 4 - That part west of State Highway 359 and Monaville - Pattison - Brookshire Rd.
  • 237-9Justice Precinct 5: Brookshire town
  • 237-10Katy city - That part in Waller County comprising part of Justice Precinct 5 (Remainder of Katy city is in Justice Precinct 1, Harris County, and in Justice Precinct 5, Fort Bend County)
  • 237-11Justice Precinct 5 - That art north of Missouri - Kansas - Texas Railroad and east of the Brookshire - Pattison Rd., outside Brookshire town and Katy city
  • 237-12Justice Precinct 5 - That part west of the Pattison - Brookshire Rd. and north of the Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad, outside Brookshire town
  • 237-13Justice Precinct 5 - That part south of the Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad, outside Brookshire town
  • 237-14Justice Precinct 6: Waller town
  • 237-15AN/A
  • 237-15BN/A
  • 237-16Justice Precinct 6 - That part south of the Texas and New Orleans Railroad, outside Waller town

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

233 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 233 of them, burning about 1,460 acres. 3 started naturally and 8 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning122
Missing data/not specified/undetermined88
Arson/incendiarism8
Equipment and vehicle use6
Smoking4
Natural3
Recreation and ceremony1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
23 October 2005Recreation and ceremony250 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCONROE - 161
11 February 1996Debris and open burning99 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
5 March 2002Debris and open burning75 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCONROE - 50
12 September 1999Equipment and vehicle use60 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
11 February 2017Debris and open burning45 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceABC RANCH
30 September 1992Debris and open burning40 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named
11 February 2016Debris and open burning40 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceGRASS FIRE
16 February 1996Missing data/not specified/undetermined40 acresTexas A & M Forest Servicenot named

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1957 to 2025

60 of 158 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 158 reports for this county, causing 2 deaths, 6 injuries and about $10,499,780 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Thunderstorm Wind60
Hail48
Flash Flood24
Tornado20
Funnel Cloud6

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
October 1998Tornado (F2)Brookshire1 killed, 1 hurt, $75,000Tornado destroyed mobile home. One person killed and another injured in the home. Nine other homes damaged and 2 barns destroyed.
April 2016Flash FloodHempstead1 killed, $6,700,000Flooding closed Highway 290 at the Harris and Waller County line. FM 362, FM 359 and FM 527 were all flooded.
February 1986Tornado (F2)not stated5 hurt, $250,000no account filed
May 2024Thunderstorm WindPrairie View$1,000,000Trees were downed by strong winds in the Prairie View area as the derecho moved through. Damage totals include other wind damage across the county.
August 2017Tornado (EF1)Katy$500,000Tornado touched down near Trailer World RV and Boat Storage facility then crossed Interstate 10. It did minor damage to Bucees car wash area then ripped large air conditioning units off top of Pepperl-Fuchs building. Finally in damaged awnings near Builders First building before lifting. Tornado crossed from Fort Bend into Waller County. This entry documents Waller County segment.
July 2012Flash FloodWaller$300,000Several parts of FM 362 impassable due to high water.
November 1977Tornado (F1)not stated$250,000no account filed
August 2017Tornado (EF1)Katy$200,000Tornado appeared to touch down at an RV and boat storage facility then cross Interstate 10. It then damaged Pepperl Fuchs facility on north side of Interstate. Tornado crossed from Fort Bend into Waller County.
May 2024Tornado (EF1)Waller$150,000A large metal barn was destroyed. Trailers were rolled. Metal debris was strewn 1000 yards to the southeast. Trees were felled in multiple directions ranging from south to northwest.
March 2001Thunderstorm WindPattison$60,000Trailer overturned, power lines down, and roof damage two miles north of Pattison. Roofs damaged and trees down along FM 529 from Pattison to the county line.
May 2000Flash FloodCountywide$50,000High water on US 290 bypass at FM 1098 and on Kickapoo Road with spotty flooding on FM 362.
February 1998Thunderstorm WindBrookshire$50,000Widespread trees and powerlines down across southern parts of the county, especially near Brookshire. Trailer home destroyed, widespread structural damage, and a car blown off the road.
May 1994Tornado (F0)not stated$50,000Four small tornados reported around the Hempstead area. One house received major roof damage. Numerous trees and powerlines were blown down.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindBrkshire Mikeska Arp$40,000The roof of a newly build home was damaged by strong winds from the derecho.
May 1999HailHempstead$40,000no account filed
October 2006Flash FloodWaller$33,000Heavy rain caused some street flooding and flooded a few homes.
February 2005HailMonaville$30,000Baseball size hail.
August 1998Thunderstorm WindBrookshire$30,000Trees and 35 powerlines blown down.
November 2004Thunderstorm WindCountywide$25,000Barn damaged in Monaville, power lines snapped in Waller and Hempstead.
August 2002Flash FloodCountywide$25,000Many roads under water.
May 2000HailHempstead$25,000Golfball sized hail near SH 6.
March 1992Tornado (F1)not stated$25,000no account filed
October 1957Tornado (F2)not stated$25,000no account filed
October 1957Tornado (F2)not stated$25,000no account filed
October 1957Tornado (F3)not stated$25,000no account filed
November 2004Thunderstorm WindMonaville$20,000Power poles snapped at intersection of FM 362 and FM 529.
November 2002Flash FloodCountywide$20,000Numerous roads closed due to high water on extremely saturated grounds.
April 2001HailBrookshire$20,000no account filed
June 2004HailBrookshire$15,000Hail on FM 359 near the Waller-Fort Bend County border.
April 2003HailHempstead$15,000Tennis ball sized hail covered the ground
December 2002Thunderstorm WindHempstead$15,000Wind damage to a home in Hempstead.
November 2000Thunderstorm WindHempstead$15,000Trees down.
November 2000Thunderstorm WindPrairie View$15,000Trees down near Yogi Bear Park.
October 1998Flash FloodCountywide$15,000Major flooding countywide.
February 2005HailPattison$15,000no account filed
March 2000HailHempstead$15,000no account filed
June 1998HailHempstead$15,000no account filed
February 1998HailBrookshire$15,000no account filed
April 1997HailWaller$15,000no account filed
May 2019Flash FloodWaller$10,000There was a high water rescue reported at Field Store Road and Waller-Spring Creek Road.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindBrookshire$10,000Utility poles along Highway 90 were snapped off due to high thunderstorm winds.
September 2001Flash FloodHempstead$10,000Roads flooded just north of Hempstead.
October 2005HailMonaville$10,000no account filed
April 2000HailMonaville$10,000no account filed
May 2000HailHempstead$10,000no account filed
November 2000HailHempstead$10,000no account filed
April 1997HailWaller$10,000no account filed
April 1996HailMonaville/Pattison$10,000no account filed
January 2020Thunderstorm WindWaller$9,000There was tree and fence damage off of Murrell Road.
March 2013HailBrookshire$8,000Golf ball size hail blew out the windows of an apartment complex. Different size hail completely covered the ground and measured six inches deep.
April 2015HailWaller$7,000Hen egg sized hail was reported in Waller.
April 1997HailWaller$7,000no account filed
April 2015Thunderstorm WindHempstead$6,000Thunderstorm winds downed trees along Highway 6 in the Hempstead area.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindHempstead$5,000Trees were downed.
May 2017Tornado (EF0)Brookshire$5,000Tornado estimated by multiple social media posts to be on the ground between the Fulshear area and the Brookshire area. Briefly touched down in a field. No significant damage.
September 2009Thunderstorm WindPrairie View$5,000A severe thunderstorm damaged a metal shed roof and a fence.
February 2003HailMonaville$5,000Nickel sized hail.
November 1998Flash FloodCountywide$5,000Widespread street flooding.
April 1997Flash FloodWaller$5,000Locallized street flooding.
May 1997Thunderstorm WindHempstead$5,000Trees down on 16th-17th St.

Every populated place in the county

21

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

Provenance

  • Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
  • Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
  • Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.