Bend, so named for the bend on the Colorado River on which the city sits, lies off Hwy 281 on Ranch Road 580, fourteen miles southeast of San Saba in southeastern San Saba County and western Lampasas County counties.
Bend boosters consider the Jumbo Hollis, which stands near the banks of the Colorado River, to be the world's most productive pecan tree. It is claimed that the tree yields nuts of extraordinary size and that in 1919 it produced more than 1,000 pounds. The tree is named for its first known owner, Thomas I. Hollis.
In 1990 Bend reported a population of 115 and two businesses.