[2] William Bracken purchased 1,114 acres (4.51 km2) of land after receiving a grant from Governor Peter Hansborough Bell.

Stores and other businesses including a blacksmith, cotton gin, and lumberyard sprung up as well, contributing to the booming railroad economy.

After the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution implementing Prohibition, the town suffered a steep decline.

[3] Bracken is located on the International-Great Northern Railroad, 13.5 mi (21.7 km) southwest of New Braunfels in southern Comal County.

Bracken Cave is found near the town and is notable for housing the largest collection of Mexican free-tailed bats in the world, numbering 20 million in habitation during spring migration.