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History · Magnolia

Magnolia’s post office opened in 1854, and 60% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Matthew Lowber House and the Lindale,John B.,House. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1936 on, and the census since 1880.

1854first post office
2on the National Register
60%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Magnolia’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Magnolia began

When was Magnolia founded?

1854

The Magnolia post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 193 in 18802020 census: 277172 years
Founding year: the first Magnolia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Magnolia’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Old housesHalf of Magnolia’s homes were built before 1938.Mystery photos11 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.
★ What stands out · The story

How Magnolia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Magnolia.

Read it all →

The area was known as Caroon Manor when it was first founded and the land had been given by the Duke of York. The town of Magnolia was incorporated in 1885 and was named for the Duke of York's favorite tree, the Magnolia. When it was incorporated, the founders chose for the town to have a circular boundary to represent brotherhood. The boundary was 1⁄4 mile (0.40 km) in diameter. The town of Magnolia retains its original boundaries as the town council has decided against annexation of land to change the boundaries.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Help out

Start Magnolia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Magnolia’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo11 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMagnolia Family Restaurant: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Magnolia, 1854 to 1991

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854Post officeThe Magnolia post office opens
  3. 1868Born hereCharles Wharton is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1991Born hereDuron Harmon is born here
By decade

Magnolia, decade by decade

Date unknown11 to date
Magnolia Family RestaurantDate?Magnolia Family RestaurantMagnolia Fire CompanyDate?Magnolia Fire CompanyMagnolia FurnitureDate?Magnolia FurnitureMother Kill Friends Burial GroundDate?Mother Kill Friends Burial GroundMatthew Lowber House, North Main StreetDate?Matthew Lowber House, North Main StreetJohn B. Lindale Farm, Office, 24 South Main StreetDate?John B. Lindale Farm, Office, 24 South Main StreetJohn B. Lindale Farm, Barn, 24 South Main StreetDate?John B. Lindale Farm, Barn, 24 South Main StreetJohn B. Lindale House & Farm, 24 South Main StreetDate?John B. Lindale House & Farm, 24 South Main StreetJohn B. Lindale Farm, Small Barn, 24 South Main StreetDate?John B. Lindale Farm, Small Barn, 24 South Main StreetJohn B. Lindale Farm, Water Tower, 24 South Main StreetDate?John B. Lindale Farm, Water Tower, 24 South Main Stre…John B. Lindale Farm, Well House, 24 South Main StreetDate?John B. Lindale Farm, Well House, 24 South Main Street
Today3 recent
GOV. GEORGE TRUITT HOUSE2017GOV. GEORGE TRUITT HOUSEMagnolia Center of the Universe Sign2012Magnolia Center of the Universe SignDEMap-doton-Magnolia2004DEMap-doton-Magnolia
On the map

Magnolia on the map, 1936 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Magnolia. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Magnolia on the 1936 USGS mapMagnolia on the 1949 USGS mapMagnolia on the 1956 USGS mapMagnolia on the 1982 USGS mapMagnolia on the 1993 USGS map1936Bowers sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Magnolia.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Magnolia Family Restaurant
Retake this viewMagnolia Family Restaurant

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Magnolia’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Magnolia

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Matthew Lowber House
Matthew Lowber House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
Matthew Lowber HouseBuilding
Lindale,John B.,HouseVictorian

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Magnolia, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 319

Between 173 and 319 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Magnolia’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Magnolia

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Duron HarmonAmerican football player, defensive back, safety · b. 1991
Charles WhartonAmerican football player · b. 1868

Questions about Magnolia’s history

What year was Magnolia founded?

The Magnolia post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Magnolia?

Two places: the Matthew Lowber House (listed 1971) and the Lindale,John B.,House (1973).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (7), the Library of Congress (7), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.