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History · Coldspring

Coldspring’s post office opened in 1850, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Coldspring was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Its Register listings are the San Jacinto County Jail and the San Jacinto County Courthouse. Below: maps from 1960 on and the census since 1890.

1850first post office
2on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Coldspring began

When was Coldspring founded?

1850

The Coldspring post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Coonskin (1847) and Fireman's Hill (1847), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 439 in 18902020 census: 819176 years
Founding year: the first Coldspring post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Coldspring’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 Coldspring are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Coldspring.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Coldspring’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Coldspring’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Coonskin
1847–1847
Fireman's Hill
1847–1850
Cold Spring
1850–today
18401930today
1cemetery inside Coldspring
Laurel Hill

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

The story

How Coldspring came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Coldspring.

Read it all →

The history of Coldspring is linked to Stephen F. Austin's first colony in Texas, which established, among other locales, San Jacinto County. Austin's original colony extended to the Trinity River watershed (roughly along Texas 156 toward Point Blank). After receiving a commission from the Mexican government to settle the town, Joseph Vehlein, a German immigrant to Mexico, deeded 640 acres (2.6 km2) to Robert Rankin, an American Revolutionary officer. This acreage included the site of Coldspring.

The settlement of Cold Springs (old spelling) began around 1850. In 1848, the only building was a nearby trading post called "Coonskin" (later, "Fireman's Hill").

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Coldspring, 1847 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847Post officeThe Coonskin post office opens
  3. 1847Post officeThe Coonskin post office closes
  4. 1847Post officeThe Fireman's Hill post office opens
  5. 1850Post officeThe Fireman's Hill post office closes
  6. 1850Post officeThe Cold Spring post office opens
  7. 1879Born hereWilliam Nickerson, Jr. is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Coldspring, decade by decade

Today7 recent
USA - Texas - Cold Spring2021USA - Texas - Cold SpringUSA - Texas - Cold Spring2021USA - Texas - Cold SpringOld san jacinto county jail2014Old san jacinto county jailColdspring methodist church2014Coldspring methodist churchColdspring TX store at Byrd avenue DSC 6241 ad2014Coldspring TX store at Byrd avenue DSC 6241 adColdspring TX Houses along Church Street DSC 6232 ad2014Coldspring TX Houses along Church Street DSC 6232 adColdspring TX Houses along Byrd Avenue DSC 6238 ad2014Coldspring TX Houses along Byrd Avenue DSC 6238 ad
On the map

Coldspring on the map, 1960 to 1997

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

Coldspring on the 1960 USGS mapColdspring on the 1976 USGS mapColdspring on the 1997 USGS map1960Coldspring 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 Coldspring.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Coldspring

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
San Jacinto County Jail
San Jacinto County JailSan Jacinto County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
Classical Revival1
San Jacinto County JailVictorian
San Jacinto County CourthouseClassical Revival

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

People over time

Coldspring, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 853

Between 439 and 853 people in every census since 1890.

7 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Questions about Coldspring’s history

What year was Coldspring founded?

The Coldspring post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Coldspring?

Two places: the San Jacinto County Jail (listed 1980) and the San Jacinto County Courthouse (2003).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (7), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.