More historic than 5% of U.S. towns · #583 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Clute was built recently: 0.4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1960.
Founding year: the first Clute post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1952.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Clute’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clute is more historic than 5% of U.S. towns, #583 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clute’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 Clute’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (34% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1952.
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 Clute’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Clute's history began at the junction of the old Calvit and Eagle Island Plantations. Alexander Calvit, one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred, obtained title to the land in 1824. Eagle Island Plantation belonged to Jared Groce, the richest man in Austin's Colony. Calvit's plantation later became the Herndon sugar plantation, owned by John H. Herndon, who married Calvit's only daughter.
The Clute post office opened in 1942, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1952.
How does Clute rank for history?
Clute is more historic than 5% of U.S. towns, #583 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.
How old are the homes in Clute?
0.4% of Clute’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 (4), 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.
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