Dalhart’s post office opened in 1901, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 27% of U.S. towns · #270 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Dalhart was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Its Register listing is the Dallam County Courthouse. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first Dalhart post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Dalhart’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dalhart is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #270 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dalhart’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 Dalhart’s 1.3 sits above most of its state (73% 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 D to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.6 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 →
Founded in 1901, Dalhart is named for its location on the border of Dallam and Hartley Counties; its name is a portmanteau of the names of the two counties. The city was founded at the site of a railroad junction, which heavily contributed to its early growth.
Dalhart was in the center of the Dust Bowl, an area adversely affected by a long period of drought and dust storms during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Here, Tex Thornton, operating on the now debunked concussion theory, coaxed today's inflation-adjusted equivalent of $1 million from the locals on claims he could fire rocket-powered explosives into the clouds and cause rain.
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 Dalhart post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Dalhart rank for history?
Dalhart is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #270 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 Dalhart?
One place: the Dallam County Courthouse (listed 1992).
How old are the homes in Dalhart?
6% of Dalhart’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
1909
1909![Mayor Wagner driving the first spike on E.O. & W. Ry. [Enid, Ohiltree and Western Railroad]](https://images.townratings.com/story/17342/d5448db44057d67c9898-s.jpg)
1909
1909
