Needville was founded by August Schendel, a German immigrant from Washington County who in 1891 purchased a 160 acres tract of land from H& TC Railroad. In 1892, August Schendel established a general store in the area he named Schendelville. When he made application for a Post Office in the settlement of Schendelville, he tried to use the name "Needmore", since everybody seemed "to need more things". It seems that Needmore was already taken, so Schendel settled for the name Needville. It remains Needville to this date. Needville's early settlers were mostly of German and Czech heritage. Needville is located on state highway 36 in Fort Bend County, ten miles south of US 59 and southwest of Houston, Texas.