The story
Read it all →How Bayside came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Bayside.
The town was established in 1908 by E.O. Burton and A.H. Danforth.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Bayside
Bayside’s post office opened in 1909, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
Most of Bayside was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Its Register listing is the John Howland Wood House. Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1880 on.
1909first post office
1on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Quick answers
How Bayside began
When was Bayside founded?
1909
The Bayside post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 275117 years
Founding year: the first Bayside post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Bayside’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Bayside’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bayside’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Bayside, 1875 to 1909
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Bayside, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1880s2 items
18801890s–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 albumThen & 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 view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Texas - Refugio County - ED 196-1 - ED 196-11, 1880
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bayside’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
1 historic place in Bayside
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
1983
John Howland Wood House
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Italianate1
Greek Revival1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Bayside
Nobody well known was born in Bayside itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
E
Eva LongoriaAmerican actress and producer · b. 1975
Places that used to be
Old corners
Bayside’s post office has been open since 1909.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Old Saint Marys
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Bayside’s history
What year was Bayside founded?
The Bayside post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Bayside?
One place: the John Howland Wood House (listed 1983).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.