Comfort, Texas

Comfort is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kendall County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, Comfort had a population of 2,211.^[3] Comfort was founded by German emigrants on the western end of the Texas-German belt. Many residents of the town today are descendants of those same Germans. Comfort is known for its German heritage and large ranches outside of town.^[4][5]

It lies adjacent to the Guadalupe River, and the 1987 Guadalupe River flood killed 10 people being evacuated from a summer camp sited near Comfort, leaving 33 others missing for a time.

Comfort was established in 1854 by German immigrants, who were Freethinkers and abolitionists.^[7] Ernst Hermann Altgelt, at the age of 22, is credited with surveying and measuring the lots that were later sold to the incoming Germans.^[8] He stayed and married Emma (Murck) Altgelt, and they raised their nine children in the township of Comfort. Fritz and Betty Holekamp built the first house in Comfort, having started construction before Comfort's official founding on September 3, 1854.^[9] The first churches were not established in Comfort until 1892.^[10] After some controversy, a cenotaph honoring "the Founding Freethinkers" was dedicated on November 2, 2002.^[11]

The downtown area is possibly one of the most well-preserved historic business districts in Texas. The well over 100 structures in the area date back to the 19th century, and seven of them were designed by noted architect Alfred Giles.^[12] Mr. Giles lived in San Antonio and would ride horses, the stagecoach, and later the train to check his building sites in Comfort.^[13] Most of the population today is composed of descendants of those original pioneer families of the 1850s and the 1860s.^[14]

Comfort is also known for a tragic event that took place during the American Civil War. The Treue der Union Monument ("Loyalty to the Union") was dedicated in honor of 35 men who died at the Battle of the Nueces, which took place because they opposed the state's secession from the Union. The German settlers were killed on their way to Mexico during the Civil War. They were attacked by Confederate forces near Brackettville on August 10, 1862. The bodies were not buried, and the bones were retrieved and placed here in 1865. The monument was erected in 1866.^[15][16]

In 1918, Albert Steves erected a hygieostatic bat roost on his family farm in Comfort. This roost was built to attract bats in an effort to control mosquito populations by natural means. It was originally researched and developed by Dr. Charles Agustus Rosenheimer Campbell of San Antonio. The idea was to use bats against malaria-carrying mosquitos. At one time, 16 bat roosts had been built in the United States and Europe, of which only two sites now remain — one in Comfort and one in the Florida Keys.^[17][18]

Some of the early settlers in Comfort migrated from the collapsed Fisher–Miller Land Grant experimental colonies of the Darmstadt Society of Forty.

Comfort is bordered to the west by Kerr County. It is 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Kerrville, 16 miles (26 km) northwest of Boerne, and 48 miles (77 km) northwest of San Antonio. The town is at the interchange of I-10 and US 87.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Comfort CDP has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.4 km²), of which 0.01 sq mi (0.02 km²), or 0.27%, is covered by water. The community sits on the north side of Cypress Creek where it joins the Guadalupe River.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification, Comfort has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa on climate maps.^[19]

Comfort was first listed as a census designated place in the 1980 United States census.^[29]

As of the 2020 United States census, 2,211 people, 768 households, and 498 families resided in the CDP.

As of the 2000 census,^[2]2,358 people, 799 households, and 603 families lived in the CDP. The population density was 735.6 inhabitants per square mile (284.0/km²). The 917 housing units had an average density of 286.1 per square mile (110.5/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 76.34% White, 0.51% African American, 1.19% Native American] 0.13% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 18.70% from other races, and 2.93% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 45.00% of the population.

Of the 799 households, 38.0% had children under 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were not families. About 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the CDP, the age distribution was 29.3% under 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $28,799 and for a family was $29,295. Males had a median income of $20,972 versus $15,000 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $12,687. About 27.1% of families and 29.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.2% of those under 18 and 3.3% of those 65 or over.

Comfort is served by the Comfort Independent School District.

• Catherine Caradja (1893–1993), Romanian aristocrat and philanthropist, maintained a residence in Comfort.^[36]
• Betty Holekamp (1826–1902), Texas pioneer, was called the Betsy Ross of Texas.^[37]

• July 2025 Central Texas floods

• Comfort Chamber of Commerce
• Chronology of Central European Colonization in Texas
• Freethinkers of the Early Texas Hill Country from the Freedom From Religion Foundation
• The Comfort Freethought Cenotaph Dedication from the Freedom From Religion Foundation
• Freethinkers and the Nueces Massacre
• Comfort from the Handbook of Texas Online