Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #492 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Bellmead was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1931 on and the census since 1960.
The Bellmead post office opened in 1937, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bellmead is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #492 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Bellmead’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bellmead’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bellmead yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Bellmead is a city in McLennan County, Texas, United States. The population was 10,494 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Its first post office opened in 1937. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 9,901 to 10,494 (+6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bellmead. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bellmead.
Grew from 5,127 people in 1960 to 10,494 in 2020.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bellmead’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Bellmead itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Bellmead had its own post office from 1937 to 1946.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Bellmead post office opened in 1937, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Bellmead is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #492 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.
2% of Bellmead’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1984.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), 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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