Diboll’s post office opened in 1897, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns · #179 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Diboll was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Its Register listing is the Henry G. Temple House. Its Register listing is the Henry G. Temple House. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1963 on, and the census since 1930.
Founding year: the first Diboll post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Diboll’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Diboll is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #179 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 Diboll’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 Diboll’s 2.0 sits above most of its state (75% 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 C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.9 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 Diboll’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Diboll yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Diboll is a city in Angelina County, Texas, United States. The population was made up of 4,457 people according to the 2020 census. Diboll is named for J. C. Diboll, a local timber salesman.
Its first post office opened in 1897. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,776 to 4,457 (-7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Diboll, 1897 to 1963
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Diboll, census by census
Between 1,363 and 5,470 people in every census since 1930.
7 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Diboll’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Diboll’s post office has been open since 1897.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Rutland
1cemetery inside Diboll
Pleasant View
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Diboll’s history
What year was Diboll founded?
The Diboll post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Diboll rank for history?
Diboll is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #179 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 Diboll?
One place: the Henry G. Temple House (listed 1988).
How old are the homes in Diboll?
6% of Diboll’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1971.
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), 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) 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.
1917
2014
2010
2004
