Kurten, TX

Kurten sits at the crossroads of U.S. 190, State Highway 21, and Farm Road 2038 in northern Brazos County, about ten miles northeast of Bryan. The town had 395 residents in 2020 and became part of the Bryan-College Station metro as the region grew around it. Its name comes from Henry Kurten, a German soldier who stayed in Texas after a furlough, carried freight between Mexico and Brazos County, and bought part of a Mexican land grant in 1864. Kurten brought settlers from Germany and donated land for churches, cemeteries, and a Masonic hall.

A post office arrived in 1890, when Kurten had a dozen businesses and a population estimated around 300. The town's oddest historical footnote came in April 1906, when the council prohibited the sale and distribution of guinea fowl after the birds became an aggressive nuisance. Today the July Fourth fireworks show at the Kurten Community Center is the big shared date on the calendar. Bryan Independent School District serves local students, and the highway crossroads still place Kurten between Brazos Valley farm country and Bryan's larger schools, jobs, and services.