Bulverde dates to 1850, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #189 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Bulverde was built recently: 0.4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 8 buildings. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 2000.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1879.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bulverde’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bulverde is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #189 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bulverde’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 Bulverde’s 13.9 sits above most of its state (88% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1850.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size.
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 Bulverde’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Bulverde's first people were Native Americans. A type of arrowhead known as the Bulverde Point is named after the style of arrowhead made by Native Americans who lived in the area during the period 2,500 to 600 BCE.
Sometimes called the "Front Porch of the Texas Hill Country", Bulverde was settled in 1850 and called Pieper Settlement after Anton Pieper. It was mainly settled by German immigrants similar to nearby New Braunfels. For many years, the closest post office was at Smithson Valley, and mail was delivered once a week to the house of Carl Koch in Bulverde. A local post office that operated from 1879 to 1919 was named for Luciano Bulverdo, an early area landowner.
In 1850, according to Wikidata. Bulverde’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 2000 counted 3,761 people here.
How does Bulverde rank for history?
Bulverde is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #189 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 Bulverde?
Two places: the Kabelmacher House (listed 2019) and the Kappelmann-Mayer Ranch (2020).
How old are the homes in Bulverde?
0.4% of Bulverde’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.
