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Dripping Springs Texas City Hall 2019Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0
C+History
History · Dripping Springs

Dripping Springs’ post office opened in 1857, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #190 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Dripping Springs was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2013. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 19 buildings. Below: maps from 1963 on and the census since 1990.

1857first post office
2on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Dripping Springs began

When was Dripping Springs founded?

1857

The Dripping Springs post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,033 in 19902020 census: 4,650169 years

How historic is Dripping Springs?

C+

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Dripping Springs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Dripping Springs’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dripping Springs is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #190 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 Dripping Springs’ overall grade.
Founding era1857, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.7) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%D−National Register2 listings, 23 historic buildings, 31.1 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 38%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 71%

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 Dripping Springs’ 31.1 sits above most of its state (93% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 23 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 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 Dripping Springs’ 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 Dripping Springs are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dripping Springs’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dripping Springs’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

Dripping Springs, in brief

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

Dripping Springs is a city in Hays County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,650 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area.

Its first post office opened in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,788 to 4,650 (+160%).

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

Timeline

Dripping Springs, 1857 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Dripping Springs post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1978Born herePatrick Rose is born here
  6. 1985Born hereCameron Duddy is born here
By decade

Dripping Springs, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Ornamental cowboy boot outside the original Salt Lick BBQ, a barbecue restaurant2014Ornamental cowboy boot outside the original Salt Lick…Barbecue Pit at the original Salt Lick BBQ, a barbecue restaurant2014Barbecue Pit at the original Salt Lick BBQ, a barbecu…Barbecue Pit at the original Salt Lick BBQ, a barbecue restaurant2014Barbecue Pit at the original Salt Lick BBQ, a barbecu…Barbecue Pit at the original Salt Lick BBQ, a barbecue restaurant2014Barbecue Pit at the original Salt Lick BBQ, a barbecu…Barbecue Pit at the original Salt Lick BBQ, a barbecue restaurant2014Barbecue Pit at the original Salt Lick BBQ, a barbecu…Barbecue Pit at the original Salt Lick BBQ, a barbecue restaurant2014Barbecue Pit at the original Salt Lick BBQ, a barbecu…
On the map

Dripping Springs on the map, 1963 to 1986

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

Dripping Springs on the 1963 USGS mapDripping Springs on the 1986 USGS map1963Dripping Springs 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 Dripping Springs.

On the National Register

2 listings protect 23 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
23
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Dr. Joseph M. and Sarah Pound Farmstead
Dr. Joseph M. and Sarah Pound FarmsteadDripping Springs Downtown Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Dr. Joseph M. and Sarah Pound FarmsteadBuilding
Dripping Springs Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict

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

People over time

Dripping Springs, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,000200020204,650

Grew from 1,033 people in 1990 to 4,650 in 2020, 4 times over.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Dripping Springs

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

See all →
P
Patrick RoseAmerican politician · b. 1978
Cameron DuddyMusic video director · b. 1985
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

BelterraIts storyD

Questions about Dripping Springs’ history

What year was Dripping Springs founded?

The Dripping Springs post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Dripping Springs rank for history?

Dripping Springs is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #190 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 Dripping Springs?

Two places: the Dr. Joseph M. and Sarah Pound Farmstead (listed 1995) and the Dripping Springs Downtown Historic District (2013).

How old are the homes in Dripping Springs?

0.0% of Dripping Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2013.

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 the Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.