More historic than 7% of U.S. towns · #508 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Bacliff was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1929 on, and the census since 1980.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1902.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bacliff’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bacliff is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #508 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bacliff’s overall grade.
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 Bacliff’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1910.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size.
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 Bacliff’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Bacliff was established in 1910 by local landowners G.C. Perkins and W.Y. Fuqua as Clifton-by-the Sea. The area was developed as a seaside weekend resort, and included parks, hotels, summer homes, and a bathhouse and open air pavilion built on a pier over the water. Telephone service came to Clifton-by-the-Sea in 1913, and Grand Avenue (FM 646) became the main street. Hurricanes, Galveston's recovery after the Hurricane of 1900, and rapid transportation diminished Clifton-by-the-Sea's popularity.
In 1910, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bacliff’s post office opened in 1902, and the census of 1980 counted 4,851 people here.
How does Bacliff rank for history?
Bacliff is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #508 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 Bacliff?
0.6% of Bacliff’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 (6), Wikipedia, 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.
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