Brazos Valley Living·Town & Area Profiles·Somerville
← Back to Town & Area ProfilesIf you're weighing Somerville, let me give you the plain version from someone who works the area. Somerville is a small city in far southern Burleson County, Texas, on the northeastern shore of Lake Somerville, sitting on State Highway 36 about 17 miles southeast of Caldwell, the county seat. The 2020 Census counted 1,312 residents, so it's a small lake town with railroad roots. I drive State Highway 36 through here regularly, and I'm glad to tell you straight what's available, in town, out on the land, or near the water.
Where Somerville sits
Let me place it for you. Somerville sits in far southern Burleson County on the northeastern shore of Lake Somerville, and State Highway 36 runs right through town, which is how I orient myself when I'm working the area. The Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas puts the city about 17 miles southeast of Caldwell, the county seat, and a mile north of Yegua Creek. Take State Highway 36 the other direction and Brenham is about 15 miles southeast. Farm to Market Road 60 ties in near town and runs west toward the Birch Creek side of the lake, so the water is close from a couple of directions. If you'd rather measure from the county seat, I keep a full Caldwell profile for you. We're in the Brazos Valley here, with Bryan, College Station, and Texas A&M up the road to the north.
How big is Somerville
Somerville is small, and I won't dress that up for you. The U.S. Census counted 1,312 residents in the city at the 2020 Census, down a little from 1,376 in 2010, and for context the whole of Burleson County was 17,642 at that same 2020 count. The town was actually larger generations ago, back when the railroad ran its shops here. The Handbook of Texas records about 2,287 residents in 1931 during the Santa Fe years, so today's number reflects a quieter, smaller town than the railroad boom days. If you want current figures for a specific area or subdivision near Somerville, just ask me and I'll pull what's available.
Somerville ISD
Public school students in and around Somerville attend Somerville Independent School District, and I'll give you the facts without rating or ranking anything. Somerville ISD serves grades PK through 12 across three campuses, Somerville Elementary, Somerville Intermediate, and Somerville High School. Enrollment runs around 528 students, per the Texas Tribune's schools explorer drawing on Texas Education Agency data. The state assigns each Texas district an A through F accountability rating, and because those grades change from year to year, I'd point you straight to the state's TXschools.gov for Somerville ISD's current district and campus ratings rather than quote one that may already be a cycle behind.
What I see around Somerville
Real estate around Somerville is mostly a land, country-home, and lake-area story, which happens to be my lane. Inside the small city limits you'll find single-family houses, but step out into the surrounding countryside and toward the water and what crosses my desk is rural property: acreage tracts, country homes on a few acres, recreational land, hay and grazing ground, and lake-area parcels across southern Burleson County. Because I'm with Home & Ranch Real Estate, most of what I work around Somerville is land and acreage rather than subdivisions. I can't promise you what any tract will do in value, but I'll tell you honestly what's available and walk the property with you.
What Somerville is known for
If you've heard of Somerville before, I'd bet it was for one of two things: the railroad or the lake. The town grew up around the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, which pushed a rail spur through here in 1880, and the first townsite lot sold in 1883. It was named for Albert Somerville, the railway's first president. For decades the Santa Fe ran a rail yard, repair shops, and a roundhouse in town, and the Texas Tie and Lumber Preserving Company, built in the mid-1890s, was for years the only large industrial plant in the county, per the Handbook of Texas. The other anchor is Lake Somerville itself. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the Somerville Dam on Yegua Creek, at the southwestern edge of town, starting in 1962 and completing it four years later. The Corps' Fort Worth District puts the reservoir at about 11,460 acres at full pool with roughly 85 miles of shoreline, and Lake Somerville State Park opened on it in 1970. I cover the lake itself in more depth on my Lake Somerville Area profile.
The Somerville market
Prices and inventory around Somerville move month to month, so rather than quote you a number that's stale by the time you read it, I keep current Somerville and Burleson County figures on my monthly market updates. Take a look there for the latest, or reach out and I'll send you what fits what you're after.
Somerville, answered
01 What county is Somerville, Texas in? +
Somerville is in far southern Burleson County, on the northeastern shore of Lake Somerville. It sits on State Highway 36 about 17 miles southeast of Caldwell, the county seat, in the Brazos Valley region of Central Texas. The U.S. Census counted 1,312 residents in the city at the 2020 Census.
02 Is Somerville, Texas on Lake Somerville? +
Yes. The city of Somerville sits on the northeastern shore of Lake Somerville, and the Somerville Dam is at the southwestern edge of town on Yegua Creek. The lake is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir of about 11,460 acres at full pool with roughly 85 miles of shoreline, managed by the Corps' Fort Worth District. I cover the lake in more depth on my Lake Somerville Area profile.
03 What is Somerville, Texas known for? +
Somerville is known as a railroad town and as a gateway to Lake Somerville. It grew up around the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway in the 1880s, was named for the railway's first president Albert Somerville, and for decades housed the railroad's shops plus the Texas Tie and Lumber Preserving Company. Today the Lake Somerville reservoir and its state park draw people to the area.
04 Are there land or lake-area properties for sale around Somerville? +
Yes. Inside Somerville you'll mostly see single-family homes, while out in the surrounding countryside and toward the lake I regularly work rural land across southern Burleson County: acreage tracts, country homes on a few acres, recreational land, and lake-area property. What's available changes constantly, so tell me your acreage range and what you want to do with the land, and I'll pull current listings that fit. I work a lot of country and lake-area property around Somerville through Home & Ranch Real Estate.
05 How far is Somerville from Caldwell and Brenham? +
Somerville sits on State Highway 36 about 17 miles southeast of Caldwell, the Burleson County seat, and about 15 miles northwest of Brenham. The town is in far southern Burleson County, with Lake Somerville on its western edge and the Brazos Valley around it. I drive State Highway 36 through here regularly and am glad to talk distances and routes through with you.
The population, school, and community facts on this page come from public sources and were current when I wrote it. I describe places and report figures with their source; I do not rate or rank schools or communities. Ratings and figures change, so check the source directly for the latest. This page is general local information, not legal, tax, or financial advice.
Sources
- Population: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census, Somerville city 1,312 (1,376 in 2010) and Burleson County 17,642 (via Wikipedia, Somerville, Texas); 1931 population of about 2,287 from the Handbook of Texas (below).
- Location, highways, railroad history, and the Texas Tie and Lumber Preserving Company: Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas (Somerville), covering the northeastern shore of Lake Somerville about 17 miles southeast of Caldwell, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway spur (1880) and 1883 townsite, and the Santa Fe shops. State Highway 36 routing (northwest 17 miles to Caldwell, southeast 15 miles to Brenham) and the city named for Albert Somerville per Wikipedia, Somerville, Texas.
- Schools: enrollment (about 528 students), grade span PK-12, and the three campuses from the Texas Tribune schools explorer (Somerville ISD), drawing on Texas Education Agency data. Current accountability ratings: TXschools.gov.
- Lake Somerville: surface area of about 11,460 acres at full pool, roughly 85 miles of shoreline, the dam on Yegua Creek, and management by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District. Dam location at the southwestern edge of Somerville, construction beginning in 1962 and completed four years later, and Lake Somerville State Park opening in 1970 per the Handbook of Texas.
Thinking about Somerville?
My office is just up the road in Caldwell, and I cover Somerville, Lake Somerville, and southern Burleson County regularly. Call or text and I'll tell you straight what's available, in town, out on the land, or near the water.