BlockBefore

Brenham, Texas

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1930 and the latest in 1993. It stands in the Brenham census division. It lies in ZIP code area 77833. It lies near North End Park. The Survey maps it on the Brenham quadrangle. 17,369 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 341 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Brenham within Washington County

On record in Brenham

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 12 of 39 shown

Every listing in Washington County

Population over time

2 figures

Brenham grew from 15,716 to 17,369 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
201015,716
202017,369+1,653 (+11%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 10 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

141 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 141 fires within 5 miles of Brenham between 2006 and 2020, burning about 246 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 4 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning84
Missing data/not specified/undetermined27
Equipment and vehicle use9
Smoking6
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Arson/incendiarism4
Natural3
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
7 September 2014Debris and open burning2.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceF.M 2935
4 September 2018Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Service3671 FM 109
3 September 2019Debris and open burning5.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Service365 SHADY ACRES LANE
29 September 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreTexas A & M Forest Service105 LANGE LAKE ROAD
29 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest Service3500 OLD GAY HILL RD
24 September 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreTexas A & M Forest ServiceSALEM RD
22 September 2010Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreTexas A & M Forest Service4021 OLD GAY HILL RD.
2 September 2013Debris and open burning1.0 acresTexas A & M Forest ServiceCOCKS CROW

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Washington County

Storms near this place

60 of 62 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Brenham in 62 storm reports between 1994 and 2023: 28 thunderstorm wind, 19 hail, 8 flash flood, 4 funnel cloud. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2009Thunderstorm WindBrenham$75,000Thunderstorm winds knocked down signs, toppled trees and damaged several area businesses across the city.
May 2000HailBrenham$50,000Golfball sized reported just north of Brenham and in numerous locations in the northern and eastern parts of Washington County.
January 2012Thunderstorm WindBrenham$40,000Sporadic straight line wind damage was observed from the Brenham area to along and east of FM 50 near Independence. Damage included numerous trees down and vehicle damage in the downtown Brenham area along with roof damage and downed power lines between Brenham and the Independence area.
June 2004Tornado (F0)Brenham$35,000Downed trees at the Latium Community on Brandt Road.
November 2004HailBrenham$30,000no account filed
June 2000Thunderstorm WindBrenham$25,000Power poles down.
May 2000HailBrenham$25,000Golfball sized hail on FM 109.
April 1998Thunderstorm WindBrenham$25,000Roof damage to Bealls Department Store.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindBrenham$20,000One barn destroyed, two barns damaged and a couple trees down off Old Independence Road.
June 1999Flash FloodBrenham$15,000Widespread street flooding in Brenham.
November 2004HailBrenham$12,000no account filed
April 1999HailBrenham$12,000no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindBrenham$10,000Trees down.
April 1998HailBrenham$10,000no account filed
September 1996HailBrenham$10,000no account filed
March 2007Flash FloodBrenham$9,000Numerous county-wide roads and some downtown Brenham streets were closed due to flooding. FM 1155 at New Years Creek and a portion of FM 2935 were closed due to high water. Some of these roadways were closed due to high water over them through Wednesday evening.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindBrenham$5,000Thunderstorm winds downed trees in the Brenham area.
April 2007Thunderstorm WindBrenham$5,000Trees blown down throughout the county. Roof of a large metal shed structure on Hueske Lane was significantly damaged.
November 2004Tornado (F0)Brenham$5,000Downed trees with residential and vehicle damage.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindBrenham$5,000Sheriff reported trees down in Brenham.
October 1998Flash FloodBrenham$5,000Street flooding.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindBrenham$5,000Transformer blown off pole at 2400 block of S Austin.
June 1997Flash FloodBrenham$5,000Street flooding throughout Brenham
August 1997Flash FloodBrenham$5,000Widespread street flooding.
June 1997Flash FloodBrenham$5,000HWY 109 closed due to high water
September 1997Flash FloodBrenham$5,000Minor street flooding.
September 1994Thunderstorm WindBrenham$5,000,,,,,,,,Hail (0.75)
March 2001HailBrenham$5,000no account filed
March 2001HailBrenham$5,000no account filed
September 1996HailBrenham$5,000no account filed
September 1996Thunderstorm WindBrenham$5,000no account filed
September 1996Thunderstorm WindBrenham$5,000no account filed
February 2009Thunderstorm WindBrenham$4,000Thunderstorm winds downed trees within 10 miles of Brenham.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindBrenham$4,000Tree down on FM 389.
February 2011Thunderstorm WindBrenham$3,000Numerous trees were downed in and around Brenham.
October 2006Thunderstorm WindBrenham$3,000Trees down.
April 1998HailBrenham$3,000Hail on FM 389.
December 1997Thunderstorm WindBrenham$3,000Trees blown down.
February 2010HailBrenham$2,000Quarter to half dollar size hail was observed on the west side of Brenham near the intersection of Highway 290 and Highway 36.
April 2006HailBrenham$2,000Penny size hail.
October 2006Thunderstorm WindBrenham$1,000One tree down.
October 2001Thunderstorm WindBrenham$1,000Sheriff's office reported large tree limbs down.
April 2023Thunderstorm WindBrenham-Washington County Sheriff's Office reported many trees downed by strong wind gusts across the county as a line of thunderstorms moved through the area.
April 2023Thunderstorm WindBrenham-Washington County Sheriff's Office reported additional calls regarding trees downed by strong wind gusts across the county as a line of thunderstorms moved through the area.
April 2023HailBrenham-Quarter sized hail was reported at Blinn College.
October 2022Thunderstorm WindBrenham-Multiple roads had downed trees across roadways in Washington County.
March 2017Funnel CloudBrenham-A funnel cloud was sighted by a Skywarn observer.
May 2016HailBrenham-Quarter size hail was observed in Brenham.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindBrenham-Thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees in Brenham.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindBrenham-Thunderstorm winds downed a tree.
April 2014HailBrenham-Nickel sized hail was observed in Brenham.
May 2011Funnel CloudBrenham-A funnel cloud was reported in and around the Brenham area.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindBrenham-Strong thunderstorms produced wind gusts estimated up to 70 mph in the Brenham area.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindBrenham-The wind gust was measured by the Brenham ASOS.
August 2009HailBrenham-The hail that was reported was primarily dime size with a few quarter size stones in the mix.
January 2007Flash FloodBrenham-Over thirty reports of county-wide roads or bridges effected mainly across central and western portions of the county. Towns impacted included Brenham, Independence, and Gay Hill.
April 2007Funnel CloudBrenham-Funnel cloud spotted near FM 389 outside of Brenham.
October 1998Tornado (F0)Brenham-DPS reported tornado. No damage reported.
May 1995HailBrenham-Sheriff reported three-quarters inch hail near Brenham.
May 1995HailBrenham-Sheriffs reported 3/4 inch hail near Brenham.

Every storm recorded in Washington County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Berlin2.6 miles10
Wiedeville4.7 miles9
Mill Creek5.1 miles10
Muellersville5.1 miles10
Phillipsburg5.2 miles10
Zionville5.5 miles10
Prairie Hill5.8 miles10
Klump5.9 miles10

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on BrenhamAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q908929The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1331223. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

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.

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.