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C+History
History · Del Rio

Del Rio’s post office opened in 1872, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns · #168 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Del Rio was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1880.

1872first post office
4on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
19famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Del Rio’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Del Rio began

When was Del Rio founded?

1872

The Del Rio post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 50 in 18802020 census: 34,673154 years

How historic is Del Rio?

C+

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Del Rio post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Del Rio’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Del Rio is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #168 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Del Rio’s overall grade.
Founding era1872, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.7% of homes (±1.3) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register4 listings, 1.2 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 43%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 74%

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 Del Rio’s 1.2 sits above most of its state (73% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 points) is firm at this size. 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 Del Rio’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1900 to 1930, drew every building in Del Rio.Famous sons and daughtersLance Blanks, Tara Cunningham and 17 more were born here.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Every building

Del Rio, building by building, 1900–1930

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.

Del Rio fire insurance map, 1900, sheet 11900Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

Famous people

19 famous people were born in Del Rio

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

See all →
L
Lance BlanksAmerican basketball player · b. 1966
T
Tara CunninghamAmerican weightlifter · b. 1972
Evelyn PeirceAmerican actress · b. 1907
Jeremy SilmanAmerican chess player and writer · b. 1954
P
Patrice FisherAmerican actress · b. 1978
Cory JamesAmerican football player · b. 1993
On the National Register

4 historic places in Del Rio

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Val Verde County Courthouse And Jail
Val Verde County Courthouse And JailCassinelli Gin HouseDel Rio Cemeteries Historic DistrictSouthern Pacific Passenger Depot
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Classical1
Val Verde County Courthouse And JailClassical
All 4 listings
Cassinelli Gin HouseBuilding · listed 1986Del Rio Cemeteries Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2003Southern Pacific Passenger DepotBuilding · listed 2026

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

The story

How Del Rio came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Del Rio.

Read it all →

The Spanish established a small settlement south of the Rio Grande in present-day Mexico, and some Spanish colonists settled on the north side of the Rio Grande as early as the 18th century.

The United States acquired the territory following the Mexican War and, after the American Civil War, Paula Losoya Taylor in 1862 was the first Anglo-American to build a hacienda in the area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Del Rio, 1872 to 1972

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Del Rio post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901In the archivePresident McKinley's first stop on the Mexican border - at Del Rio, Texas
  5. 1907Born hereEvelyn Peirce is born here
  6. 1917In the archiveTexas
  7. 1922In the archiveView of Del Rio from Acuna 1922
  8. 1939In the archiveCampJoyDelRio1939
  9. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1954Born hereJeremy Silman is born here
  11. 1966Born hereLance Blanks is born here
  12. 1972Born hereTara Cunningham is born here
By decade

Del Rio, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s6 items
President McKinley's first stop on the Mexican border - at Del Rio, Texas1901President McKinley's first stop on the Mexican border…President McKinley's first stop on the Mexican border--Del Rio, Texas1901President McKinley's first stop on the Mexican border…Sunset Route, Castle Canyon, Texas1908Sunset Route, Castle Canyon, TexasTexas1917TexasTexas1917TexasTexas1917Texas
1920s–1930s3 items
View of Del Rio from Acuna 19221922View of Del Rio from Acuna 1922Del Rio, Texas. Cho Cho explaining the value of milk, vegetables fruits, etc1923Del Rio, Texas. Cho Cho explaining the value of milk,…CampJoyDelRio19391939CampJoyDelRio1939
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Hummingbird Black-chinned, Male2006Hummingbird Black-chinned, MaleBullriding2006BullridingTXMap-doton-DelRio2004TXMap-doton-DelRio
On the map

Del Rio on the map, 1943 to 1986

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

Del Rio on the 1943 USGS mapDel Rio on the 1972 USGS mapDel Rio on the 1986 USGS map1943Del Rio 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 Del Rio.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

President McKinley's first stop on the Mexican border - at Del Rio, Texas
Retake this viewPresident McKinley's first stop on the Mexican border - at Del Rio, Texas, 1901

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Del Rio’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Del Rio, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 35,591

Between 50 and 35,591 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Del Rio’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPresident McKinley's first stop on the …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Laughlin AFBIts storyDVal Verde ParkIts storyDCienegas TerraceIts storyC−

Questions about Del Rio’s history

What year was Del Rio founded?

The Del Rio post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Del Rio rank for history?

Del Rio is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #168 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 Del Rio?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Val Verde County Courthouse And Jail (listed 1977, the first), and 1 historic district, the Del Rio Cemeteries Historic District,.

How old are the homes in Del Rio?

5% of Del Rio’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1978.

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), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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), 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.