German immigrants from the New Braunfels area were the first settlers in this community, arriving in the 1840s in search of good farm land. Agriculture formed the early economic base. About 1877, the arrival of the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroad linked the town to San Antonio and enabled goods to be shipped to other parts of the state. Earlier known as Cibolo Pit and Cutoff, the community adopted the name Schertz, honoring early area settler Sebastian Schertz, when the post office was established in 1882.