[4] Antonio Gómez, a Mexican-American teenager, was lynched on June 19, 1911, in Thorndale following his lethal stabbing of a German-American garage owner, Charles Zieschang.

Concerns about prejudice and violence against Mexican-American youths, such as the Gómez hanging, inspired Jovita Idar to found the League of Mexican Women (La Liga Femenil Mexicanista).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.0 square miles (2.5 km2), all land.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.

Thorndale (along with Thrall, Taylor, and Round Rock to the west) was where the vast majority of the principal photography and locations for the 2002 movie The Rookie, starring Dennis Quaid, and Rachel Griffiths, were filmed.

Local resident Emanuel “Shifty” Castillo's role in the film was to throw the baseball when Dennis Quaid was on the mound.

[12][13] Apache Pass also hosts the Annual Texas Trail Riders Convention and Trail Ride and the Annual Silver Spurs Spring Jam, which benefits the SS BEVO Endowment, which has been established to fund the care and expenses of BEVO (the UT Longhorn steer mascot), provides scholarships for UT students and supports the University of Texas Neighborhood Longhorns program.

Apache Pass also hosts a number of local events and concerts, and has become a vital part of the Thorndale community and its tradition of the arts, music and film.