First named Schendelville after store and gin owner August Schendel, the town began in the early 1890s. When August made an application for a post office (1894) he jokingly asked that it be called Needmore, but some postmaster in West Texas had beat him to it, so the authorities took the liberty of altering it to Needville.

A school opened in the late 1890s about the time the town was platted and lots sold. The population was 100 in 1914 and the town received a phone connection two years later. The Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway arrived in 1918. The population had increased to 500 by the 1920s and Needville had its own electric generating plant. In 1932 Highway 36 was constructed, giving the town it's first all-weather road connecting it to other towns.

Needville students were bussed to Richmond and Rosenberg until the late 1940s when Needville formed its own ISD. The high school opened in 1948, and the elementary school in 1960. The high school suffered an arson fire in 2007, which destroyed much of the original building.

The N. A. Allen Elementary School was constructed for Black students in 1960 and integrated six years later. The town got its first library in 1974. The 1950 population was just over 600. It grew to 2,199 by 1990 and 2,609 for the 2000 census.

Located in Needville Texas about 35 miles southwest of Houston, the Needville Volunteer Fire Department provides primary fire and rescue services to the City of Needville and approximately 175 square miles of Southeast Fort Bend County which includes several unincorporated areas of the county.

NVFD is at this time a fully Volunteer Fire Department with approximately 42 active members at present. Volunteer officers and members receive no compensation. The Department at this time headed operationally and administrative by a Volunteer Fire Chief, Keith Thumann . With other officers of 1st and 2nd Assistant Chief, 2 Captains, 4 Lieutenants. with staggered terms, Public Relations Officer, EMS C.E. Coordinator, and Fire Marshal and Assistants.

The Needville Volunteer Fire Department operates two Class A Engines (a 1989 FMC conventional 1250gpm and 2005 Ferrara Custom 1500gpm), 2- Rescues(1999 Ford 1995 Chevy E-One), 2 Tankers (1982 1500gal. 2007 Kenworth 2000 gal.),  1 Booster (1993 shopbuilt) and a Chief's support vehicle.   All current department apparatus are own by the Needville Vol. Fire Dept. and was purchased primarily by donations and fundraisers over the years.

Volunteer membership is available to citizens at least 18 years of age who are willing to donate their times and talents to helping the community. Membership pursue firefighting, rescue and emergency medical first responder activities. Applicants for membership must undergo a background check before final acceptance. All active members will be assigned to a squad headed by a Lieutenant for assistance at first responder calls and other activities as assigned.

The Needville Vol. Fire Dept. is dispatched on emergency calls by Fort Bend County Emergency Dispatch which includes the 911 call takers for the smaller cities and the unincorporated areas of the county. All members are alerted by tone/voice pagers advising locations and type of call.

All officers selections are done annually for all officers including lieutenants with expired terms. Term beginning immediately after our annual meeting the first Tuesday of January of each year. The chief and is assistants are responsible for all operational and administrative aspects of the department. Any personnel issues are brought before the board of Directors and the administrative officers of the department.

The Needville Vol. Fire Dept. operates off a list of Standard Operating Guidelines (SOG's) for emergency operations of the Needville Vol. Fire Dept. Procedures and Guidelines changes are proposed by members for review and adaptation for the operations of the fire department. With final approval of the administrative officers of the department.

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