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History · Terral

Terral’s post office opened in 1892, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1910.

1892first post office
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Terral began

When was Terral founded?

1892

The Terral post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 573 in 19102020 census: 280134 years
Founding year: the first Terral post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Terral’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Terral are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1916, drew every building in Terral.On the map since 19054 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1991. Watch Terral change.Old housesHalf of Terral’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Terral’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Terral, building by building, 1894–1916

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Terral fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the map

Terral on the map, 1905 to 1991

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

Terral on the 1905 USGS mapTerral on the 1968 USGS mapTerral on the 1981 USGS mapTerral on the 1991 USGS map1905Montague sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Terral came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Terral.

Read it all →

Terral was founded in 1892 by John Heidelberg Dace Terral, a Texan who leased the land from a Chickasaw woman, Emily Colbert Fleetwood, He and Hugh Schoolfield platted the townsite and began selling lots in May 1892. A post office was established August 8, 1892, with Terral himself serving as the first postmaster.

The town has remained an agricultural community since its establishment. The most important crops are watermelons, cantaloupes and cotton. Cattle and hog raising are also important. Livestock are usually sold in Fort Worth, Texas, 90 miles (140 km) to the south of Terral. The town began celebrating an annual Terral Watermelon Jubilee in July 1965.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Terral, 1892 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe Terral post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1985Post officeThe Terral post office closes
By decade

Terral, decade by decade

Today1 recent
OKMap-doton-Terral2004OKMap-doton-Terral
People over time

Terral, census by census

0100200300400500600700192019401960198020002020Peak: 636

Between 280 and 636 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Terral

Nobody well known was born in Terral itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Rex Tillerson69th United States Secretary of State · b. 1952
Greg AbbottGovernor of Texas since 2015 · b. 1957
Rue McClanahanAmerican actress and comedian · b. 1934
G
Greyson ChanceAmerican singer, songwriter, and musician · b. 1997
Mike MullaneAmerican astronaut · b. 1945
Keith LeeAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1984
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Terral had its own post office from 1892 to 1985.

Terral
1892–1985
18901960today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Terral’s history

What year was Terral founded?

The Terral post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.