Boerne dates to 1849, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns · #53 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Boerne was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 9 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Boerne’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Boerne is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #53 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 Boerne’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 Boerne’s 6.3 sits above most of its state (83% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1849.
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 Boerne’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Boerne came into being as an offshoot of the Texas Hill Country Free Thinker Latin Settlements, resulting from the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states. Those who came were Forty-Eighters, intellectual liberal abolitionists who enjoyed conversing in Latin and who believed in utopian ideals that guaranteed basic human rights to all. They reveled in passionate conversations about science, philosophy, literature, and music. The Free Thinkers first settled Castell, Bettina, Leningen, and Schoenburg in Llano County. These experimental communities were supported for one year by the Adelsverein, a group of German nobles. The communities eventually failed due to lack of finances after the Adelsverein funding expired, and also due to conflicts of structure and authority. Many of the pioneers from these communities moved to Sisterdale, Boerne, and Comfort.
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 Boerne. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Boerne sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Boerne.
Every building
Boerne, building by building, 1910–1924
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.
In 1849, according to Wikidata. Boerne’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1870 counted 250 people here.
How does Boerne rank for history?
Boerne is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #53 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 Boerne?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Kendall Inn (listed 1976, the first), and 1 historic district, the Herff-Rozelle Farm, with 9 contributing buildings. 13 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Boerne?
5% of Boerne’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2006.
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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.
2017
2014
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2010
2009
