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History · Covington

Covington dates to 1852, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

1852founded
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Covington began

When was Covington founded?

1852

Covington dates its founding to 1852 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1855.

2020 census: 261174 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1855.

What stands out about Covington’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 Covington are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Covington’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Covington’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Covington’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 so far

Covington, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Covington yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Covington is a city in Hill County in central Texas, United States. Located at the intersection of FM 67 and State Highway 171, 14 miles (23 km) north of Hillsboro, it is near the northern boundary of Hill County. It was founded by Colonel James Jackson Gathings, formerly of North Carolina and Mississippi, in the spring of 1852, and is named for his wife's family. Gathings secured about 10,000 acres (40 km2) of land in what is now Hill County, 100 of which were set aside for the new town of Covington. The population of Covington, 168 years later, was 261 at the 2020 census.

Covington was established in 1852. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 269 to 261 (-3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Covington, 1852 to 1897

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852
    FoundingCovington is established
  3. 1855Post officeThe Covington post office opens
  4. 1897Born hereAstyanax Douglass is born here
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Questions about Covington’s history

What year was Covington founded?

In 1852, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Covington’s post office opened in 1855.

Memory lane

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

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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 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.