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History · Celeste

Celeste’s post office opened in 1886, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

1886first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Celeste began

When was Celeste founded?

1886

The Celeste post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 809140 years
Founding year: the first Celeste post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Celeste’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 Celeste are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Celeste’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Celeste came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Celeste.

Read it all →

Like many towns in Hunt County, Celeste was a product of railroad development. The townsite was platted in 1886 by the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway 3 miles (5 km) north of Kingston, on open prairie already crossed by the Missouri, Kansas and Texas line. This location was chosen in order to ensure that Kingston, whose elected officials had refused to offer incentives to attract the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe to build through their community, would be bypassed by the line as it put down tracks from Paris through Farmersville to Dallas.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Celeste, 1886 to 1981

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Celeste post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906Born hereCharles Luna is born here
  5. 1909Born hereMack Harrell is born here
  6. 1913Born hereHack Miller is born here
  7. 1981Born hereJamaica Rector is born here
By decade

Celeste, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Celeste November 2015 5 (The First Bank of2015Celeste November 2015 5 (The First Bank ofCeleste November 2015 4 (U.S. Route 69)2015Celeste November 2015 4 (U.S. Route 69)Celeste November 2015 3 (U.S. Route 69)2015Celeste November 2015 3 (U.S. Route 69)Celeste November 2015 2 (City Hall & Police Department)2015Celeste November 2015 2 (City Hall & Police Departmen…Celeste November 2015 1 (U.S. Route 69)2015Celeste November 2015 1 (U.S. Route 69)TXMap-doton-Celeste2004TXMap-doton-Celeste
Famous people

5 famous people were born in Celeste

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

See all →
M
Mack HarrellAmerican opera singer · b. 1909
C
Charles LunaAmerican trade unionist · b. 1906
H
Hack MillerAmerican baseball player · b. 1913
J
Jamaica RectorAmerican football player · b. 1981
C
Charles HarlowAmerican javelin thrower · b. 1903

Questions about Celeste’s history

What year was Celeste founded?

The Celeste post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.