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BHistory
History · Cedar Hill

Cedar Hill dates to 1846, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #109 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Cedar Hill was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: maps from 1959 on and the census since 1940.

1846founded
5on the National Register
0.8%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Cedar Hill began

When was Cedar Hill founded?

1846

Cedar Hill dates its founding to 1846 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1940.

First census: 476 in 19402020 census: 49,148180 years

How historic is Cedar Hill?

B

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1852.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Cedar Hill’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cedar Hill is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #109 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cedar Hill’s overall grade.
Founding era1846, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.8% of homes (±0.5) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register5 listings, 6 historic buildings, 1.2 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 56%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 83%

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 Hill’s 1.2 sits above most of its state (73% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1846.

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 Cedar Hill’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Cedar Hill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1846: 180 years of Cedar Hill.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cedar Hill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cedar Hill’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Cedar Hill, 1846 to 1995

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1846
    FoundingCedar Hill is established
  3. 1852Post officeThe Cedar Hill post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1989Born hereJosh Thomas is born here
  7. 1992Born hereBen Malena is born here
  8. 1995Born hereQuincy Adeboyo is born here
On the National Register

5 historic places in Cedar Hill

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
D. M. Angle House
D. M. Angle HouseDr. Rufus A. Roberts HouseWilliam Bryant Jr. HouseZ. T. (Tip) Hawkes HouseStraus House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Victorian4
Stick Style1
"I" House1
D. M. Angle HouseVictorian
Dr. Rufus A. Roberts HouseVictorian
William Bryant Jr. HouseVictorian
Z. T. (Tip) Hawkes House"I" House
Straus HouseVictorian

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Cedar Hill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cedar Hill.

Read it all →

Cedar Hill was founded circa 1846 by a small group of settlers from the Peters Colony. They came from Kentucky, Alabama, and surrounding areas to arrive in the Dallas area of North Texas; 197 families and 184 single men settled in what is now Cedar Hill, making it the largest settlement in the area at the time.

Cedar Hill has five homes listed on the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places, four historical structures on the Texas Historical Commission's list of Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks, and two graveyards designated as "Historical Texas Cemeteries" by the Texas Historical Commission, one of which is believed to be the oldest integrated cemetery in Dallas County.

Chapters1856 tornadoCedar Hill Bank robbery

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Cedar Hill in 1892

Passages that mention Cedar Hill, cut from the printed page as they were published.

except his for district clerk. He is a candidate again for this office, and up to this date, July 8, 1892, he has no opponent. Well may the little town of Cedar Hill esteem her most excellent and superior citizen, Hon. Joeepli H. Stewart!
Memorial and biographical history of Dallas County, Texas ..1892 · page 337Read the page →
Read the text

except his for district clerk. He is a candidate again for this office, and up to this date, July 8, 1892, he has no opponent. Well may the little town of Cedar Hill esteem her most excellent and superior citizen, Hon. Joeepli H. Stewart!

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
except his for district clerk. He is a candidate again for this office, and np to this date, July S, 1S92, he has no opponent. Well may the little town of Cedar Hill esteem her most excellent and superior citizen, Hon. Joseph H. Stewart!
Memorial and biographical history of Dallas county, Texas ... Containing a history of this important section of the great state of Texas, from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time ... and biographical mention of many of its pioneers, a1892Read the page →
Read the text

except his for district clerk. He is a candidate again for this office, and np to this date, July S, 1S92, he has no opponent. Well may the little town of Cedar Hill esteem her most excellent and superior citizen, Hon. Joseph H. Stewart!

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The population of Cedar Hill is about 600; ahd while it is not incorporated it possesses as much enterprise among her citizens as any town of its number of inhabitants in the county.
Memorial and biographical history of Dallas County, Texas ..1892 · page 336Read the page →
Read the text

The population of Cedar Hill is about 600; ahd while it is not incorporated it possesses as much enterprise among her citizens as any town of its number of inhabitants in the county.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
» The population of Cedar Hill is about COO; ahd while it is not incorporated it possesses as much enterprise among her citizens as any town of its number of inhabitants in the county.
Memorial and biographical history of Dallas county, Texas ... Containing a history of this important section of the great state of Texas, from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time ... and biographical mention of many of its pioneers, a1892Read the page →
Read the text

» The population of Cedar Hill is about COO; ahd while it is not incorporated it possesses as much enterprise among her citizens as any town of its number of inhabitants in the county.

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.

By decade

Cedar Hill, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Cedar Hill TX mural2025Cedar Hill TX muralCedar Hill govt center2023Cedar Hill govt centerWilliam Bryant Jr. House Cedal Hill Wiki (1 of 1)2021William Bryant Jr. House Cedal Hill Wiki (1 of 1)Strauss House Cedar Hill Wiki (1 of 1)2021Strauss House Cedar Hill Wiki (1 of 1)First United Methodist Church Cedar Hill Wiki (1 of 1)2021First United Methodist Church Cedar Hill Wiki (1 of 1)Cedar Hill Downtown Wiki (1 of 1)2021Cedar Hill Downtown Wiki (1 of 1)Cedar Hill water tank at High Point2020Cedar Hill water tank at High PointSpring2018SpringCedarHillSign2017CedarHillSignDuncanville & Cedar Hill water towers2014Duncanville & Cedar Hill water towersCedarHillWaterTower200701272007CedarHillWaterTower20070127CedarHillAntennae2005CedarHillAntennae
On the map

Cedar Hill on the map, 1959 to 1995

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cedar Hill. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cedar Hill on the 1959 USGS mapCedar Hill on the 1968 USGS mapCedar Hill on the 1973 USGS mapCedar Hill on the 1982 USGS mapCedar Hill on the 1995 USGS map1959Cedar Hill sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cedar Hill.

People over time

Cedar Hill, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,0001940196019802000202049,148

Grew from 476 people in 1940 to 49,148 in 2020, more than tenfold.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cedar Hill’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Cedar Hill

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Josh ThomasAmerican football cornerback · b. 1989
C
Charleston RamboAmerican football wide receiver
B
Ben MalenaAmerican-football player · b. 1992
Q
Quincy AdeboyoAmerican football player · b. 1995
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Cedar Hill’s post office has been open since 1852.

Hamlets and corners on the map
CedarviewKingswood
1cemetery inside Cedar Hill
Pleasant Valley

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Dallas125 historic placesA−Grand PrairieIts storyC−OvillaIts storyCDuncanvilleIts storyC−MidlothianIts storyC−DeSotoIts storyC

Questions about Cedar Hill’s history

What year was Cedar Hill founded?

In 1846, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Cedar Hill’s post office opened in 1852, and the census of 1940 counted 476 people here.

How does Cedar Hill rank for history?

Cedar Hill is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #109 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 Hill?

5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the D. M. Angle House (listed 1985, the first). 6 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Cedar Hill?

0.8% of Cedar Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1995.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (5), 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 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.