Hunter, Texas

Hunter is an unincorporated community in Comal County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 30 in 2000. It is located within the Greater San Antonio area.

History
Andrew Jackson Hunter, who established a 1000 acre cotton farm in the area in 1867, inspired the name Hunter. When the International-Great Northern Railroad arrived in the townsite in 1880, it was officially named and established. There, in Gustavus A. Schleyer's general store, a post office opened in 1883, and Schleyer served as postmaster. When Hunter had 60 or so residents in 1884, Schleyer's shop, a cotton gin, a grocery store, and a bar were operating there. With 200 residents by 1890, the village had two saloons, a gin and gristmill, a barbershop, a wagonmaker, a blacksmith, and a meat store. Following the death of Andrew Jackson Hunter in 1883, his son-in-law Edward M. House and his spouse initiated the process of purchasing the remaining Hunter descendants. Together with Harry Landa of New Braunfels, they established the Hunter Cotton Gin Company in 1894. Cottonseed was transported from the Hunter Gin to the Landa Cotton Oil Mill in New Braunfels by teams of six-mule wagons. Landa later acquired House's share of the gin. Hunter recorded 200 residents and nearly the same mix of companies in 1896; by that time, a resident physician had also been added. The 1901 Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad line was constructed in this region. Hunter's population of 200 was recorded in 1914, despite a significant surge of immigrants from Mexico starting to arrive. Local companies started to close when the cotton industry did not flourish. The population had dropped to 75 by 1940. The International-Great Northern and the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas railroads had abandoned their depots by 1947. After the post office closed in 1953, a rural route from New Braunfels served the community. Riley's Tavern was now the most established and longest-running business in the community. Hunter had roughly 50 residents in 1993. In addition to the general shop and flea market that were barely surviving at the time, Saint John's Catholic Church continued to play a significant role in the settlement. Additionally, the town had a sizable industrial base, with a major supplier of road-base material and a maker of prestressed concrete products based there. Its population was 30 in 2000.

Geography
Hunter is located at the intersection of Farm to Market Roads 1102 and 2439, 8 mi north of New Braunfels in eastern Comal County on York's Creek.

Education
Hunter had a one-room school with ten students enrolled when it joined the New Braunfels School District in 1949. Today, the community is served by the Comal Independent School District. It is zoned for Oak Creek Elementary School, Canyon Middle School, and Canyon High School.