1905
1909
1909
1909
1925
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1929
1939
1939
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1939The story
Read it all →How Alamo came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Alamo.
Alamo was laid out in 1909, and named after the Alamo Mission in San Antonio.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
D−History
History · Alamo
Alamo dates to 1909
More historic than 3% of U.S. towns · #591 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Alamo was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: 16 old photos and papers, maps from 1914 on, and the census since 1930.
1909founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
16old photos & papers
2famous people
Quick answers
How Alamo began
When was Alamo founded?
1909
Alamo dates its founding to 1909 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1930.
First census: 1,018 in 19302020 census: 19,493117 years
How historic is Alamo?
D−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 3% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1919.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Alamo’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Alamo is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #591 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Alamo’s overall grade.
Founding era1909, from Wikipedia: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.4) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%D−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical TX town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 3%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 8%
Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Alamo’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (34% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1909.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Alamo’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Alamo’s post office has been open since 1919. Another post office, Forum, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Alamo
Forum
19101970today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Adkins ColoniaAlamo Orchards ColoniaAlamo Rose RV Resort ColoniaBrowning-Ken Number 3 ColoniaCountry Living Estates ColoniaCountry Living Estates Number 2 ColoniaEl Nopal ColoniaIgnacio Perez ColoniaLaguna Park ColoniaMilagro Estates ColoniaMoore Road ColoniaNew Palm ColoniaRoyalty House Number 2 and 3 ColoniaSeventh Street Addition ColoniaSouthside Village Colonia
1cemetery inside Alamo
Saint Joseph
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
By decade
Alamo, decade by decade
5 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1860s1 item
1900s5 items
1910s–1920s5 items
1930s5 items
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your albumOn the map
Alamo on the map, 1914 to 1983
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Alamo. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1914San Juan sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Alamo.
Timeline
Alamo, 1860 to 1952
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1860
In the archiveAlamo, San Antonio, in big citites - 20th century
- 1905
In the archiveThe Alamo, the shrine of Texas heroism - from President Roosevelt's stand - San Antonio, … - 1909FoundingAlamo is established
- 1912
In the archiveBattle of the Alamo - 1914
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1919Post officeThe Alamo post office opens
- 1919Post officeThe Forum post office opens
- 1919Post officeThe Forum post office closes
- 1922
In the archiveRemember the Alamo?--Historic building entirely surrounded by flivvers and automobiles - 1937Born hereMichael David Pfeifer is born here
- 1939
In the archiveMexican cabbage packer - 1952Born hereGilberto Hinojosa is born here
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.
Retake this viewAlamo, San Antonio, in big citites, 1860
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Alamo’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Alamo, census by census
Grew from 1,018 people in 1930 to 19,493 in 2020, more than tenfold.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Alamo’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →2 famous people were born in Alamo
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Help out
Finish Alamo’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Alamo’s history
What year was Alamo founded?
In 1909, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Alamo’s post office opened in 1919, and the census of 1930 counted 1,018 people here.
How does Alamo rank for history?
Alamo is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #591 of 642 in Texas. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Alamo?
0.0% of Alamo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1997.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From the Library of Congress (16), 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.