Needville began in 1892 when settler August Schendel opened a general store here on his land. A blacksmith shop, cotton gin, and room for a post office had been added by 1894, when Schendel was appointed the first postmaster. He suggested the name "Needmore" because the place needed more of everything, but another town already had that name. The village slowly became a trade center. The first church service was held in 1891, and a school opened by 1897. Its early economy was based on stock-raising and farming, but that changed radically with the discovery of oil, natural gas, and sulphur in the 1920s and 1930s.