Cuero’s post office opened in 1840, and 55 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #16 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Cuero was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. 55 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 152 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1960 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Cuero post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cuero’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cuero is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #16 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cuero’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 Cuero’s 252 sits above most of its state (98% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 206 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 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 Cuero’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The city of Cuero got its start in the mid-19th century as a stopping point on the Chisholm Trail cattle route to Kansas. According to the Handbook of Texas Online, "Gustav Schleicher founded the latter town as a way-station and moved to it soon afterward, in 1872." It was not recognized as a town until 1873, though, when it was officially founded. The city was named for the Spanish word "hide", referring to the leather made from animal hides. The industry was extremely short-lived, however, and gave way to various forms of ranching. The city had several Old West gunfights related to clan feuding following the Civil War.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Cuero post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cuero rank for history?
Cuero is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #16 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.
What is on the National Register in Cuero?
55 listings: 49 buildings, among them the De Witt County Courthouse (listed 1971, the first), 4 historic districts with 152 contributing buildings, 1 structure, and 1 object. 206 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Cuero?
9% of Cuero’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (55), 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.
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