Most of Brownsboro was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1940.
Founding year: the first Brownsboro post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Brownsboro’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Brownsboro is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Brownsboro’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 Brownsboro’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 still be C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points). 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 Brownsboro’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Brownsboro was first settled in 1849 by John "Red" Brown, who operated a toll bridge across Kickapoo Creek on the road to Jordan's Saline and Tyler. He had received a state issued license to operate a bridge near the town of Old Normandy. By 1860, Henry Cade had erected a sawmill and a cotton gin. With the construction of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway through the county in 1880, the town moved to the railroad.
Passages that mention Brownsboro, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Henderson County Texas1929 · page 213Read the page →
Read the text
The oldest town in the county was Buffalo on the Trinity river, located in 1845. The next was Brownsboro, located in 1849, by John (Red) Brown, on his survey, about one-half or three-fourths of a mile southeast of where Brownsboro is now located on the Cotton Belt railroad. It was named for Jno. Brown. He had it surveyed and laid off into lots, but I fail to find any record of the plat. He was living there when he died in 1850 or 51.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Henderson County Texas1929 · page 215Read the page →
Read the text
John Brown secured license to build a toll bridge across Kickapoo creek in 1850, just north of Brownsboro. This was the first bridge that was built across Kickapoo creek. Regular charges were fixed by the court. The road led to Grand or Jordan’s Saline and Tyler, Texas.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The Brownsboro post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Brownsboro rank for history?
Brownsboro is more historic than 27% 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 Brownsboro?
7% of Brownsboro’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1994.
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 (1), Wikipedia, 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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