College Station's origins date from 1860, when the Houston and Texas Central Railway began to build through the region.

[7] Eleven years later, the site was chosen as the location for the proposed Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, a land-grant school.

[7] The city grew under the leadership of Ernest Langford, called by some the "Father of College Station", who began a 26-year stretch as mayor in 1942.

In the 1990s, College Station and Texas A&M University drew national attention when the George Bush Presidential Library opened in 1997.

In 2022, it became one of the first areas served by Amazon's Prime Air drone delivery service, along with Lockeford, California.

Winters are mild with periods of low temperatures usually lasting less than two months, while summers are hot and humid.

Snow and ice are rare; most recently, College Station received three to five inches of snowfall on February 15, 2021.

[14] Northgate is a mixed-use district north of Texas A&M University that features a combination of businesses, restaurants, apartments, churches, and entertainment.

[18][19] A large portion of the stores, bars, and restaurants in Northgate are frequented, patronized, and staffed by Texas A&M students.

Northgate's roots started in the 1930s as the city began enjoying rapid population growth from the influx of Texas A&M University students, professors, and their families.

In 2006, the city council incorporated Northgate as a special tax zone to finance additional improvements and expansions.

Many well-known musicians, especially in the Texas country music scene, initially performed in the Northgate area.

Notable names include Robert Earl Keen, Grammy award-winner Lyle Lovett, Dub Miller, and Roger Creager.

The district is bisected to the north by Church Street, made famous by the Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett duet "The Front Porch Song".

Data from the ACS 1-year estimates indicates that the median income for a household in College Station was $47,632,[41] a decrease from $52,397 reported in the 2020 census.

[45] The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates the Bryan District Parole Office in College Station.

The 82-acre (330,000 m2) mall is home to 125 stores; its opening on February 17, 1982, helped create the impetus for growing economic and commercial developments for College Station.

[53] It is currently the largest taxpayer in College Station and the second-largest in the Brazos Valley, though the anchor stores are free-standing units that are privately owned and taxed separate from the mall proper.

Low power television stations KAGS-LD and KRHD-CD respectively air programming from NBC (via Temple-based KCEN-TV) and ABC (via Waco-based KXXV).