Beaumont’s post office opened in 1835, and 15 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns · #61 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Beaumont was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. 15 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Lucas Gusher, Spindletop Oil Field, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 41 buildings. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1850.
The Beaumont post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Amelia (1885), Rosedale (1890) and Helbig (1901), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 171 in 18502020 census: 115,282191 years
How historic is Beaumont?
B+
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Beaumont post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Beaumont’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Beaumont is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #61 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Beaumont’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Beaumont ranks #178 on History.
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 Beaumont’s 5.6 sits above most of its state (82% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 63 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Beaumont’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Beaumont’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
In 1824 Noah and Nancy Tevis settled on the west bank of the Neches River and developed a farm. Soon after that, a small community grew up around the farm, which was named Tevis Bluff or Neches River Settlement. In 1835 the land of Tevis, together with the nearby community of Santa Anna (in total, 50 acres (20 ha)), was purchased by Henry Millard (c. 1796–1844), Joseph Pulsifer (1805–1861), and Thomas Byers Huling (1804–1865). They began planning a town to be laid out on this land. Their partnership, J.P. Pulsifer and Company, controlled the first 50 acres (200,000 m2) upon which the town was founded. This town was named Beaumont, after Mary Dewburleigh Barlace Warren Beaumont, the wife of Henry Millard. They added more property for a total of 200 acres.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Beaumont. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1926Vidor 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 Beaumont.
Every building
Beaumont, building by building, 1885–1929
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Beaumont post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Beaumont rank for history?
Beaumont is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #61 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 Beaumont?
15 listings: 13 buildings, 1 historic district, the Beaumont Commercial District, with 41 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 63 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Beaumont?
3% of Beaumont’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (7), the National Register of Historic Places (15), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
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