The story
Read it all →How Ben Bolt came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Ben Bolt.
Ben Bolt was founded in 1904. The community took its name from the popular song "Ben Bolt and Sweet Alice".
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
D−History
History · Ben Bolt
Ben Bolt’s post office opened in 1906
More historic than 3% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Ben Bolt was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1917 on.
1906first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Ben Bolt began
When was Ben Bolt founded?
1906
The Ben Bolt post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 1,662120 years
How historic is Ben Bolt?
D−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 3% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Ben Bolt post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ben Bolt’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ben Bolt is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ben Bolt’s overall grade.
Founding era1906, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.0% of homes (±2.2) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%D−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical TX town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 3%
NewerOlder
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 Ben Bolt’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 D. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 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 Ben Bolt’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 Ben Bolt’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ben Bolt’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Ben Bolt on the map, 1917 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ben Bolt. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1917Ben Bolt sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ben Bolt.
Timeline
Ben Bolt, 1906 to 1984
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumFamous people
See all →Famous people close to Ben Bolt
Nobody well known was born in Ben Bolt itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Ben Bolt had its own post office from 1906 to 1984.
Ben Bolt
19001960today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Ben Bolt’s history
What year was Ben Bolt founded?
The Ben Bolt post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Ben Bolt rank for history?
Ben Bolt is more historic than 3% 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 Ben Bolt?
0.0% of Ben Bolt’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1986.
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).
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.