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CHistory
History · Collinsville

Collinsville’s post office opened in 1872

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Collinsville was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Collinsville began

When was Collinsville founded?

1872

The Collinsville post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,866154 years

How historic is Collinsville?

C

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Collinsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Collinsville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Collinsville is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Collinsville’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 28%
NewerOlder

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 Collinsville’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 still be C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points). 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 Collinsville’s past

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

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Collinsville’s collection

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

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

How Collinsville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Collinsville.

Read it all →

In 1904, Collinsville Academy was built. The school had two stories and six rooms, and could accommodate about 400 students. The school was rebuilt in 1941 with the intention being to help the citizens of Collinsville retain jobs during the Depression, according to the older citizens of the community. A 20-room school was built to replace it, and continues to be used as an elementary school. A high school and junior high were built in 1995.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Collinsville, 1869 to 1911

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869Born hereWilliam H. Murray is born here
  3. 1872Post officeThe Collinsville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1911Born hereBill Denton is born here
By decade

Collinsville, decade by decade

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Collinsville

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

See all →

Questions about Collinsville’s history

What year was Collinsville founded?

The Collinsville post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Collinsville rank for history?

Collinsville is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns. 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 Collinsville?

8% of Collinsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1987.

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 (5), 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.