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DHistory
History · Deer Park

Deer Park dates to 1892

More historic than 10% of U.S. towns · #467 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Deer Park was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1950.

1892founded
0on the National Register
0.7%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Tijuana Brass at English Wikipedia · Public domain
Quick answers

How Deer Park began

When was Deer Park founded?

1892

Deer Park dates its founding to 1892 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1950.

First census: 736 in 19502020 census: 34,495134 years

How historic is Deer Park?

D

More historic than 10% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1893.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Deer Park’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Deer Park is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #467 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Deer Park’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19400.7% of homes (±0.6) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical TX town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 10%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 27%

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 Deer Park’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1892.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Deer Park’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 Deer Park are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Deer Park’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Deer Park’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
The story

How Deer Park came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Deer Park.

Read it all →

Deer Park was founded in 1892 by Simeon H. West, a farmer, retired legislator, and much-traveled adventurer from Illinois. He named the town for the large number of deer that roamed the Gulf plains. A railroad station opened later that year and a post office followed in 1893.

ChaptersShell Chemical plant explosionIntercontinental Terminals Company's chemical fire2023 tornado2023 Shell refinery explosion2023 Emergency siren overhaul

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Deer Park, 1892 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892
    FoundingDeer Park is established
  3. 1893Post officeThe Deer Park post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1995Born hereZane Gonzalez is born here
By decade

Deer Park, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Deer Park Prairie2025Deer Park PrairieUSA - Texas - Deer Park - Pasadena Fwy2022USA - Texas - Deer Park - Pasadena FwyUSA - Texas - Deer Park - Pasadena Fwy2022USA - Texas - Deer Park - Pasadena FwyUSA - Texas - Deer Park - Independence Pkwy2022USA - Texas - Deer Park - Independence PkwyUSA - Texas - Deer Park - Independence Pkwy2022USA - Texas - Deer Park - Independence PkwyCenikor2009Cenikor
On the map

Deer Park on the map, 1950 to 1992

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

Deer Park on the 1950 USGS mapDeer Park on the 1975 USGS mapDeer Park on the 1992 USGS map1950Houston sheet · 1:250,000

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

People over time

Deer Park, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,000196019802000202034,495

Grew from 736 people in 1950 to 34,495 in 2020, more than tenfold.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Deer Park’s post office has been open since 1893.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Link FiveSpenwick Place
1cemetery inside Deer Park
Betheny

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Pasadena3 historic placesCLa Porte1 historic placeC

Questions about Deer Park’s history

What year was Deer Park founded?

In 1892, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Deer Park’s post office opened in 1893, and the census of 1950 counted 736 people here.

How does Deer Park rank for history?

Deer Park is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #467 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.

How old are the homes in Deer Park?

0.7% of Deer Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1982.

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 (6), 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.