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B+History
History · Daingerfield

Daingerfield’s post office opened in 1839, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #76 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Daingerfield was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. Its Register listing is the Old Morris County Courthouse. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1870.

1839first post office
1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Daingerfield began

When was Daingerfield founded?

1839

The Daingerfield post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 272 in 18702020 census: 2,522187 years

How historic is Daingerfield?

B+

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Daingerfield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Daingerfield is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #76 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Daingerfield’s overall grade.
Founding era1839, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19406.4% of homes (±5.5) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 4.0 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 65%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 88%

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 Daingerfield’s 4.0 sits above most of its state (80% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±5.5 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 Daingerfield’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 Daingerfield are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1909, drew every building in Daingerfield.On the map since 19143 editions of the USGS map, 1914 to 1980. Watch Daingerfield change.Deep rootsA post office since 1839: 187 years of Daingerfield.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Daingerfield’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Daingerfield’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
Every building

Daingerfield, building by building, 1892–1909

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Daingerfield fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the map

Daingerfield on the map, 1914 to 1980

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

Daingerfield on the 1914 USGS mapDaingerfield on the 1964 USGS mapDaingerfield on the 1980 USGS map1914Daingerfeild sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Daingerfield.

The story so far

Daingerfield, in brief

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

Daingerfield is a city in and the county seat of Morris County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, Daingerfield had a population of 2,522. The bluegrass instrumental tune Old Dangerfield by Bill Monroe was named after the town of Daingerfield.

Its first post office opened in 1839. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 2,560 in 2010, 2,522 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Daingerfield, 1839 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1839Post officeThe Daingerfield post office opens
  3. 1882BuiltOld Morris County Courthouse is built
  4. 20th century
  5. 1914On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1964Born hereThomas Everett is born here
  7. 1966Born hereEric Everett is born here
  8. 1967Born hereDavid Whitmore is born here
  9. 1997Born hereDenzel Mims is born here
By decade

Daingerfield, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Old Morris county courthouse2015Old Morris county courthouseMorris county tx courthouse2014Morris county tx courthouseCumberland Presbyterian Church, Daingerfield, Texas Historical Marker2012Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Daingerfield, Texas H…Cumberland Presbyterian Church2012Cumberland Presbyterian ChurchChapel Hill College, Daingerfield, Texas Historical Marker2012Chapel Hill College, Daingerfield, Texas Historical M…Caddo Trace, Daingerfield, Texas Historical Marker2012Caddo Trace, Daingerfield, Texas Historical MarkerDangerfieldtheater2011DangerfieldtheaterDaingerfieldd2009DaingerfielddDaingerf2009DaingerfTXMap-doton-Daingerfield2004TXMap-doton-Daingerfield
On the National Register

1 historic place in Daingerfield

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Old Morris County Courthouse
Old Morris County Courthouse, built 1882
Buildings
Old Morris County CourthouseBuilt 1882

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

People over time

Daingerfield, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,133

Between 272 and 3,133 people in every census since 1870.

14 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Daingerfield

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

See all →
T
Thomas EverettAll-American college football player, professio… · b. 1964
D
David WhitmoreAmerican football player · b. 1967
Denzel MimsAmerican football player · b. 1997
E
Eric EverettAmerican football player · b. 1966
G
Greg EvansAmerican football player · b. 1971
O
Otis HenryAmerican baseball player · b. 1903

Questions about Daingerfield’s history

What year was Daingerfield founded?

The Daingerfield post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Daingerfield rank for history?

Daingerfield is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #76 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 Daingerfield?

One place: the Old Morris County Courthouse (listed 1979).

How old are the homes in Daingerfield?

6% of Daingerfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1968.

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 (10), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.