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C+History
History · Dublin

Dublin’s post office opened in 1875, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #163 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Below: maps from 1890 on and the census since 1880.

1875first post office
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Dublin began

When was Dublin founded?

1875

The Dublin post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 264 in 18802020 census: 3,359151 years

How historic is Dublin?

C+

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Dublin’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dublin is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #163 of 642 in Texas. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dublin’s overall grade.
Founding era1875, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194021.0% of homes (±8.2) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%B+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical TX town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 44%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 75%

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 Dublin’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (34% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±8.2 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 Dublin’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 Dublin are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18904 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1985. Watch Dublin change.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1891 to 1921, drew every building in Dublin.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dublin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dublin’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
On the map

Dublin on the map, 1890 to 1985

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

Dublin on the 1890 USGS mapDublin on the 1920 USGS mapDublin on the 1965 USGS mapDublin on the 1985 USGS map1890Stephenville sheet · 1:125,000

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

Every building

Dublin, building by building, 1891–1921

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.

Dublin fire insurance map, 1891, sheet 11891Sheet 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.

The story so far

Dublin, in brief

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

Dublin is a city located in southwestern Erath County in Central Texas, United States. Its population was 3,359 at the 2020 census, down from 3,654 at the 2010 census. The town is the former home of the world's oldest Dr Pepper bottling plant (see Dublin Dr Pepper). The plant was for many years the only U.S. source for Dr Pepper made with real cane sugar (from Texas-based Imperial Sugar), instead of less expensive high-fructose corn syrup. Contractual requirements limited the plant's distribution range to a 40-mile (64 km) radius of Dublin, an area encompassing Stephenville, Tolar, Comanche, and Hico. Dublin was the southern terminus of the Wichita Falls and Southern Railroad, one of the pr…

Its first post office opened in 1875. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,654 to 3,359 (-8%).

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

Timeline

Dublin, 1875 to 1938

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Dublin post office opens
  3. 1888Born hereFred Lewis Crawford is born here
  4. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1919Born hereSlim Willet is born here
  7. 1920Born hereGeorge Andrew Davis is born here
  8. 1938Born hereJohnny Duncan is born here
By decade

Dublin, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Part of mural2014Part of muralDublin Bottling Works advertising mural2014Dublin Bottling Works advertising muralWayne Feeds advertising mural2014Wayne Feeds advertising muralOld advertising wall poster in2014Old advertising wall poster inDr Pepper advertising mural2014Dr Pepper advertising muralDr Pepper advertising mural2014Dr Pepper advertising muralDr Pepper advertising mural2014Dr Pepper advertising muralDublin32013Dublin3Dublin Public Library2013Dublin Public LibraryDowntown2013DowntownBen Hogan Museum2013Ben Hogan MuseumTXMap-doton-Dublin2004TXMap-doton-Dublin
People over time

Dublin, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,754

Between 264 and 3,754 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Dublin

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

See all →
Johnny DuncanAmerican country singer · b. 1938
Fred Lewis CrawfordAmerican politician · b. 1888
George Andrew DavisUnited States Air Force Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1920
S
Slim WilletAmerican disc jockey · b. 1919
J
Jim SpruillAmerican football and basketball player · b. 1923
Llerena FriendAmerican historian, teacher, and librarian · b. 1903

Questions about Dublin’s history

What year was Dublin founded?

The Dublin post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Dublin rank for history?

Dublin is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #163 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.

How old are the homes in Dublin?

21% of Dublin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.2 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1973.

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), 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.