August Schendel founded the town of Schendelville in 1891 that contained his house, a store and a cotton gin. In 1894, he applied for a post office using the name "Needmore" as a joke, since they always needed more of everything. Due to Needmore, Texas already existing, the post office amended the name to "Needville". By 1898, Schendel had officially platted a town and begun selling lots. A school had been constructed in 1897. By 1903, Needville had a school for white children with one teacher and 97 pupils, and one school for black children with one teacher and 45 pupils. The Round Hall building had been built about 1910 for dances and other social activities, and remained in this service until the 1950s. ad Needville had three general stores, two cotton gins, a movie theater, and a population of 100 in 1914. Telephone service arrived in 1916. In 1918, the Needville State Bank opened and the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway built a line through the town. In 1920, Needville reported having a population of 500. It also reported having 12 general stores, four churches, four gins, and an electric power generation plant. From 1927 through 1931, the Fort Bend county fair was held in Needville. It was then discontinued because of the Great Depression, which caused the fair to run heavily into debt. Natural gas was piped into town in 1929. FM 36 was completed in 1932, allowing all-weather access to Needville. Thereafter, a local school bus transported high school students to schools in Richmond and Rosenberg. Needville formed its own Independent School District in 1946 and opened its own high school in 1948. Needville I.S.D. opened a new elementary school in 1960. Integration of black and white schools was completed in 1966.
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,609 people, 926 households, and 688 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,532.5 people per square mile. There were 979 housing units at an average density of 575.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 74.09% White, 13.19% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 10.23% from other races, and 2.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.96% of the population. The median income for a household in the city was $41,202, and the median income for a family was $48,824. Males had a median income of $35,200 versus $26,389 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,802. About 8.9% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.8% of those under age 18 and 18.8% of those age 65 or over.
The Needville Harvest Festival, founded in 1983, is held every October. The festival is organized by NHF, Inc. to draw visitors to Needville in the hope of stimulating local business, to raise funds for community development, and to fund annual scholarships for local high school students. 2006 performance by Aaron Watson.
The Needville Citywide Garage Sale is held in March and September each year. There is no website as the participants are homeowners and businesses. Information with a map is normally available at Kinfolks Antiques at 979-793-7200. Dates can be found on the of events.
Albert George Branch Library of Fort Bend County Libraries is in Needville. The library, which opened in November 1974, was named after Fort Bend County philanthropist Albert George. The Needville Chamber of Commerce and the Needville Lion's Club donated the land for the library. Originally the library, with its first portion designed by Wylie W. Vale & Associates, had of space. In 1997 the library system used bond funds to expand and renovate the library; the library gained a new entrance, a meeting room, and new toilet facilities. The library now has of space.
Parks and recreation
Fort Bend County operates the Barbara Jordan Park in Needville.
