The story
Read it all →How Eagle Lake came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Eagle Lake.
The first newspaper in Eagle Lake was established by Joseph J. Mansfield in 1888.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
AHistory
History · Eagle Lake
Eagle Lake’s post office opened in 1849, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns · #12 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 35 buildings. Below: maps from 1907 on and the census since 1880.
1849first post office
1on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Quick answers
How Eagle Lake began
When was Eagle Lake founded?
1849
The Eagle Lake post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 406 in 18802020 census: 3,442177 years
How historic is Eagle Lake?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 86% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Eagle Lake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Eagle Lake’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eagle Lake is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #12 of 642 in Texas. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Eagle Lake’s overall grade.
Founding era1849, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194013.5% of homes (±7.1) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 35 historic buildings, 100 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 86%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 98%
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 Eagle Lake’s 100 sits above most of its state (96% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 35 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 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 Eagle Lake’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 Eagle Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Eagle Lake Commercial Historic District takes in 35 historic buildings.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1907 to 1922, drew every building in Eagle Lake.Deep rootsA post office since 1849: 177 years of Eagle Lake.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Eagle Lake’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Eagle Lake’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the National Register
1 listing protects 35 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
35
each building in a district counts
first listed
2007
Eagle Lake Commercial Historic District
Districts
Architectural styles listings
Italian Renaissance1
Commercial Style1
Mission1
Post-War Modern1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Eagle Lake, building by building, 1907–1922
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.
1907Sheet 1 of 4Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Eagle Lake, 1849 to 1972
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Eagle Lake, decade by decade
2026
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013On the map
Eagle Lake on the map, 1957 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Eagle Lake. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1957Eagle Lake sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Eagle Lake.
People over time
Eagle Lake, census by census
Between 406 and 3,921 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Eagle Lake’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →4 famous people were born in Eagle Lake
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Questions about Eagle Lake’s history
What year was Eagle Lake founded?
The Eagle Lake post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Eagle Lake rank for history?
Eagle Lake is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #12 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 Eagle Lake?
One place: the Eagle Lake Commercial Historic District (listed 2007).
How old are the homes in Eagle Lake?
14% of Eagle Lake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1965.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (6), Wikidata (1), 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), 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.