Cedar Creek’s post office opened in 1852, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 27% of U.S. towns · #276 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Cedar Creek was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Its Register listing is the Hopewell School. Below: maps from 1985 on.
Founding year: the first Cedar Creek post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cedar Creek’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cedar Creek is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #276 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 Cedar Creek’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 Cedar Creek’s 2.3 sits above most of its state (77% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 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 Cedar Creek’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Cedar Creek, Texas, traces its settlement back to 1832, when Addison Litton, a Missouri native, was awarded a league of black prairie on both sides of the creek. With his wife Mary Owen Litton, an Alabama native, the Litton family established their residence. They were soon joined by other early settlers, including Jesse Billingsley and John Day Morgan, who played a key role in establishing the town's first cabin. In January 1842, a Methodist preacher held a large ceremony at the Litton's house, marking the establishment of the church as an important element within the community. A decade later, in 1852, postmaster Elisha Billingsley inaugurated the first local post office. By 1855, the Presbyterian church was organized in the area.
The Cedar Creek post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cedar Creek rank for history?
Cedar Creek is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #276 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 Cedar Creek?
One place: the Hopewell School (listed 2015).
How old are the homes in Cedar Creek?
0.0% of Cedar Creek’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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