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History · Detroit

Detroit’s post office opened in 1887

Most of Detroit was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1940.

1887first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Detroit began

When was Detroit founded?

1887

The Detroit post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Bennett (1876), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,064 in 19402020 census: 704139 years
Founding year: the first Detroit post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Detroit’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 Detroit are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Detroit’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Detroit’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 so far

Detroit, in brief

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

Detroit is a town in Red River County, Texas, United States. The population was 704 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 732 to 704 (-4%).

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

Timeline

Detroit, 1876 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1876Post officeThe Bennett post office opens
  3. 1887Post officeThe Bennett post office closes
  4. 1887Post officeThe Detroit post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Detroit, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Detroit June 2018 02 (United States Post Office)2018Detroit June 2018 02 (United States Post Office)Detroit June 2018 01 (Detroit High School)2018Detroit June 2018 01 (Detroit High School)Cow-skull detail on the facade of a building in the settlement of Detroit in Red River County, Texas2014Cow-skull detail on the facade of a building in the s…Not a lot is super at the superette in the tiny settlement of Detroit in Red River County, Texas2014Not a lot is super at the superette in the tiny settl…Not a lot is super at the superette in the tiny settlement of Detroit in Red River County, Texas2014Not a lot is super at the superette in the tiny settl…Cow-skull detail on the facade of a building in the settlement of Detroit in Red River County, Texas2014Cow-skull detail on the facade of a building in the s…
On the map

Detroit on the map, 1964 to 1991

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

Detroit on the 1964 USGS mapDetroit on the 1985 USGS mapDetroit on the 1991 USGS map1964Detroit sheet · 1:24,000

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

People over time

Detroit, census by census

02004006008001,00019401960198020002020Peak: 1,064

Between 576 and 1,064 people in every census since 1940.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Detroit’s post office has been open since 1887. Another post office, Bennett, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bennett
1876–1887
Detroit
1887–today
18701950today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Detroit
DetroitNew Hope

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

Questions about Detroit’s history

What year was Detroit founded?

The Detroit post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (2), 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.