In 1885, a post office called Half Moon was opened at a trading post near the present site of Shiner. In 1887, Henry B. Shiner donated 250 acres for a depot and right-of-way for the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway which bypassed Half Moon and was built through Henry B. Shiner's donated land and the town grew around these transportation facilities. The town initially called itself "New Half Moon" but in 1888 the town's name was changed to Shiner and the town was incorporated in 1890. Czech and German immigrants soon became the dominant ethnic groups, and Shiner developed a cohesive Czech community that still heavily influences the town's culture. Ranching was an important part of the town's history. Historically notable families of the area are the Wolters and Welhausen families which the "Edwin Wolters Memorial Museum" and the "Shiner Welhausen Park" are named after respectively. Shiner is the home of the Spoetzl Brewery, the oldest independent brewery in Texas. The brewery is most well known for producing Shiner Bock, a dark German/Czech-style beer that is now distributed in 49 states. Shiner is also the home of the historic Kaspar Companies, one of the oldest continuously operating companies in America. Kaspar Companies is a holding company that currently consists of Ranch Hand Truck Accessories, Texas Precious Metals, Kaspar Manufacturing, Bedrock Truck Beds, Silverback Homes and Horizon Firearms.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and 0.41% is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,070 people, 882 households, and 572 families residing in the city. The population density was 849.9 people per square mile. stg There were 1,016 housing units at an average density of 417.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 85.60% White, 10.87% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 1.93% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.09% of the population. There were 882 households out of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.1% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.86. In the city, the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 28.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,205, and the median income for a family was $40,250. Males had a median income of $28,167 versus $17,426 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,942. About 7.4% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.7% of those under age 18 and 21.0% of those age 65 or over.
