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CHistory
History · Angleton

Angleton dates to 1890, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 31% of U.S. towns · #238 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Old Brazoria County Courthouse. Most of Angleton was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1920.

1890founded
1on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
16famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Angleton began

When was Angleton founded?

1890

Angleton dates its founding to 1890 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 1,043 in 19202020 census: 19,429136 years

How historic is Angleton?

C

More historic than 31% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1892.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Angleton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Angleton is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #238 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Angleton’s overall grade.
Founding era1890, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.4% of homes (±0.8) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 0.5 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 31%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 63%

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 Angleton’s 0.5 sits above most of its state (71% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1890.

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 Angleton’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 Angleton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Famous sons and daughtersRoss Robinson, Emmitt Thomas and 14 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Angleton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Angleton’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
Famous people

16 famous people were born in Angleton

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

See all →
R
Ross RobinsonAmerican record producer · b. 1967
E
Emmitt ThomasAmerican football player and coach · b. 1943
E
Erika JoAmerican musician · b. 1986
Quentin JammerAll-American college football player, professio… · b. 1979
Jeron RobinsonAmerican high jumper · b. 1991
Ray WillisAmerican football player · b. 1982
The story

How Angleton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Angleton.

Read it all →

Angleton was founded in 1890 near the center of Brazoria County and named for the wife of the general manager of the Velasco Terminal Railway. A bitter rivalry emerged between the town and nearby Brazoria for the location of the county seat; Angleton was chosen as the seat in 1896 and rechosen by county-wide election in 1913. The town was incorporated on November 12, 1912.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Angleton, 1890 to 1986

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890
    FoundingAngleton is established
  3. 1892Post officeThe Angleton post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1943Born hereEmmitt Thomas is born here
  6. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1967Born hereRoss Robinson is born here
  8. 1979Born hereQuentin Jammer is born here
  9. 1986Born hereErika Jo is born here
By decade

Angleton, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Angleton ISD Frontier Elem2019Angleton ISD Frontier ElemAngleton ISD Angleton JHS2019Angleton ISD Angleton JHSAngleton ISD2019Angleton ISDWind Blown Hair (Unsplash)2017Wind Blown Hair (Unsplash)Arkansas National Guard2017Arkansas National GuardAngleton TX Old Brazoria county courthouse DSC 6265 ad2014Angleton TX Old Brazoria county courthouse DSC 6265 adAngleton TX Houses along Velasco Street DSC 6281 ad2014Angleton TX Houses along Velasco Street DSC 6281 adYellow Crowned Night Heron Brazoria Nwr Texas2010Yellow Crowned Night Heron Brazoria Nwr TexasTurkey Vulture Brazoria Nwr Texas2010Turkey Vulture Brazoria Nwr TexasTexas Scrub2010Texas ScrubNo Clue Brazoria Nwr Texas2010No Clue Brazoria Nwr TexasIbisses Ibi Ibiss Multibis And Egrets Brazoria Nwr Texas2010Ibisses Ibi Ibiss Multibis And Egrets Brazoria Nwr Te…
On the map

Angleton on the map, 1943 to 1974

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

Angleton on the 1943 USGS mapAngleton on the 1963 USGS mapAngleton on the 1974 USGS map1943Angleton sheet · 1:24,000

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Angleton

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Old Brazoria County Courthouse
Old Brazoria County Courthouse
Buildings
Old Brazoria County CourthouseBuilding

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

People over time

Angleton, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00019201940196019802000202019,429

Grew from 1,043 people in 1920 to 19,429 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Angleton’s post office has been open since 1892.

Gone or out of use
Cameron Airportairport
1cemetery inside Angleton
Angleton

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

Questions about Angleton’s history

What year was Angleton founded?

In 1890, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Angleton’s post office opened in 1892, and the census of 1920 counted 1,043 people here.

How does Angleton rank for history?

Angleton is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #238 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.

What is on the National Register in Angleton?

One place: the Old Brazoria County Courthouse (listed 1979).

How old are the homes in Angleton?

1% of Angleton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1979.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.