Caldwell’s post office opened in 1841, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns · #41 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Caldwell was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Its Register listings are the Reeves-Womack House and the Kraitchar, Thomas, Jr. and Mary, House. Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Caldwell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Caldwell’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Caldwell is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #41 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Caldwell’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 Caldwell’s 9.1 sits above most of its state (86% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 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 Caldwell’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
1885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Caldwell, 1841 to 1956
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Caldwell yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Caldwell is a city in and the county seat of Burleson County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,993 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bryan-College Station metropolitan area.
Its first post office opened in 1841. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,104 to 3,993 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Caldwell, census by census
Between 301 and 4,104 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Caldwell’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Caldwell’s history
What year was Caldwell founded?
The Caldwell post office opened in 1841, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Caldwell rank for history?
Caldwell is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #41 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 Caldwell?
Two places: the Reeves-Womack House (listed 1993) and the Kraitchar, Thomas, Jr. and Mary, House (2002).
How old are the homes in Caldwell?
8% of Caldwell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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