Kurten

Kurten is at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 190, State Highway 21, and Farm Road 2038, ten miles east of Bryan in Brazos County. The town was founded by Henry Kurten, a German soldier who decided not to return to army life after his furlough in America ended. Beginning in the early 1850s Kurten carried freight between Mexico and Brazos County. In 1864 he bought half of Isaiah Curd's Mexican land grant and brought settlers over from Germany. Kurten let many of the newcomers pay for their passage from Germany by working on his farm. Many of the immigrants stayed in the area, purchasing tracts from Kurten. Kurten donated land for two German churches-the Lutheran church and the Evangelical Lutheran church-a black church, two cemeteries, and the Masonic hall. A post office was established at the community in 1890. In 1896 Kurten had a population estimated at 300, twelve businesses, and Baptist and Methodist churches. The town had four businesses, two churches, one school, and a number of scattered dwellings by 1941. Its population was listed as 100 from the 1920s to the 1960s. That figure grew to 150 during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1981 Kurten had two businesses, two community halls, a church, and a cemetery. The community reported 150 residents and seven businesses in 1989. The population remained the same in 2000 with eleven businesses.