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C+History
History · Dimmitt

Dimmitt’s post office opened in 1891, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns · #169 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Dimmitt was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1964. Its Register listing is the Castro County Courthouse. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1965 on, and the census since 1930.

1891first post office
1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dimmitt’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dimmitt began

When was Dimmitt founded?

1891

The Dimmitt post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 829 in 19302020 census: 4,171135 years

How historic is Dimmitt?

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 Dimmitt post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Dimmitt’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dimmitt is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #169 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 Dimmitt’s overall grade.
Founding era1891, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.4% of homes (±4.1) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 2.4 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 Dimmitt’s 2.4 sits above most of its state (77% 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 (±4.1 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 Dimmitt’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Dimmitt’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dimmitt’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dimmitt’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewNssl0187 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Dimmitt came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dimmitt.

Read it all →

Dimmitt is located on the old Ozark Trail, a road system from St. Louis, Missouri, to El Paso, Texas. The Ozark Trail is marked at the courthouse.

Dimmitt, Texas has a history dating back to March 1890 when the Bedford Town and Land Company purchased land and established the townsite. H. G. Bedford oversaw the sale of lots, and the town was named after his brother-in-law Rev. W.C. Dimmitt. The town faced competition for the county seat but was voted county seat on December 18, 1891.

By this time, Dimmitt had two stores, a post office, a hotel, a school, and a resident doctor. A wooden courthouse was completed in 1892, and was replaced by a brick structure after the original burned down in 1906. A brick school building was completed in 1910.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dimmitt, 1891 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Dimmitt post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1942Born hereKent Hance is born here
  5. 1952Born hereDon Carthel is born here
  6. 1952Born hereSharon Welch is born here
  7. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1995In the archiveNssl0187 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library
By decade

Dimmitt, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Nssl0187 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library1995Nssl0187 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library
Date unknown2 to date
Dimmitt Tornado1 - NOAADate?Dimmitt Tornado1 - NOAADimmitt Tornado2 - NOAADate?Dimmitt Tornado2 - NOAA
Today9 recent
Sheep feeder lot south of Dimmitt, TX IMG 48122010Sheep feeder lot south of Dimmitt, TX IMG 4812Rhoads Memorial Library, Dimmitt, TX IMG 48282010Rhoads Memorial Library, Dimmitt, TX IMG 4828Ozark Trail marker in Dimmitt, TX IMG 48292010Ozark Trail marker in Dimmitt, TX IMG 4829Gazebo at courthouse square, Dimmitt, TX IMG 48242010Gazebo at courthouse square, Dimmitt, TX IMG 4824Former Carlile Theater in Dimmitt, TX IMG 48202010Former Carlile Theater in Dimmitt, TX IMG 4820Dimmitt, TX, welcome sign IMG 48192010Dimmitt, TX, welcome sign IMG 4819Dimmitt, TX, grain elevator IMG 48332010Dimmitt, TX, grain elevator IMG 4833Dimmitt City Hall, Dimmitt, TX IMG 48322010Dimmitt City Hall, Dimmitt, TX IMG 4832Castro County, TX, Courthouse IMG 48222010Castro County, TX, Courthouse IMG 4822
On the map

Dimmitt on the map, 1965 to 1980

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

Dimmitt on the 1965 USGS mapDimmitt on the 1980 USGS map1965Dimmitt 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 Dimmitt.

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.

Dimmitt Tornado1 - NOAA
Retake this viewDimmitt Tornado1 - NOAA

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Dimmitt

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2026
Castro County Courthouse
All 1 listings
Castro County CourthouseBuilding · listed 2026

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

People over time

Dimmitt, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50019401960198020002020Peak: 5,019

Between 829 and 5,019 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Dimmitt

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

See all →
Kent HanceAmerican politician · b. 1942
D
Don CarthelAmerican football player and coach · b. 1952
S
Sharon WelchAmerican academic scholar, social ethicist and … · b. 1952

Questions about Dimmitt’s history

What year was Dimmitt founded?

The Dimmitt post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Dimmitt rank for history?

Dimmitt is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #169 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 Dimmitt?

One place: the Castro County Courthouse (listed 2026).

How old are the homes in Dimmitt?

6% of Dimmitt’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1964.

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 (12), 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.