Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1886.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bartonville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bartonville is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bartonville’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 Bartonville’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 C. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1878.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Bartonville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Bartonville was originally part of the Chinn's Chapel settlement, but then it decided to change to a place that was established in 1853 by Elisha Chinn. Chinn's Chapel eventually became three small communities, with Bartonville being the lone remaining town. Bartonville was settled in 1878 and was named for T. Bent Barton. In 1886, a local post office was established, and by 1890, Bartonville had 25 residents, a general store, a gristmill, and a cotton gin, all owned by the Barton family. By 1896, Bartonville's population was estimated at 100, and the town had three general stores. The post office was discontinued in 1906. Slow growth continued, and by 1930, Bartonville had a population of 300 and a business establishment.
In 1878, according to Wikidata. Bartonville’s post office opened in 1886.
How does Bartonville rank for history?
Bartonville is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns. 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 Bartonville?
0.8% of Bartonville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 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.