Instead of moving to the authorized colonization area, the Fisher-Miller land grant in west central Texas, where many German settlers had already established themselves, decided to stay where the frontier circumstances were less difficult.

The community was situated near a major highway connecting Houston to inland towns and settlements.

It functioned as a dumping ground for transporting cotton to Mexico during the American Civil War.

Nonetheless, it stayed an agricultural and ranching hamlet with sporadic houses and farms rather than growing into a sizable settlement.

Bernardo had a general store, a volunteer fire department, and 187 registered voters in its precinct in 1986.