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B−History
History · Eagle Pass

Eagle Pass was first counted by the census in 1850, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #157 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Eagle Pass was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1850.

1850first census
2on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Eagle Pass’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Eagle Pass began

When was Eagle Pass founded?

1850

Eagle Pass first appears in the census in 1850. Another post office, Fort Duncan (1851), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 383 in 18502020 census: 28,130176 years

How historic is Eagle Pass?

B−

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Eagle Pass’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eagle Pass is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #157 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Eagle Pass’ overall grade.
Founding era1850, from the first census: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.6% of homes (±2.2) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 4 historic buildings, 1.4 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 45%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 76%

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 Pass’ 1.4 sits above most of its state (74% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±2.2 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (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 Pass’ past

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

Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1924, drew every building in Eagle Pass.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Eagle Pass, and 4 old place names are still on the map.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1887–1939.
★ What stands out · Every building

Eagle Pass, building by building, 1885–1924

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.

Eagle Pass fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Eagle Pass’s post office has been open since 1852. Another post office, Fort Duncan, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fort Duncan
1851–1852
Eagle Pass
1852–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cedar Ridge Number 2 ColoniaCedar Ridge Number 3 ColoniaCedar Ridge Number 4 ColoniaMorales Circle Colonia
Gone or out of use
Eagle Pass Municipal Airportairport

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

By decade

Eagle Pass, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s6 items
Old map-Eagle Pass-18871887Old map-Eagle Pass-1887MapMap of Camp Eagle Pass at1895Map of Camp Eagle Pass atMapMap of1903Map ofMapMap of1903Map ofMapMap of Eagle Pass, Texas and Vicinity showing nature of surface at points suitable for U. S. Military Post, Target Rang…1904Map of Eagle Pass, Texas and Vicinity showing nature …MapMap of Eagle Pass, Texas, Reservation1905Map of Eagle Pass, Texas, ReservationMap
1910s–1930s6 items
Co. H. 5th Maryland Inf. Eagle Pass Texas 1916 to Feb. 19171916Co. H. 5th Maryland Inf. Eagle Pass Texas 1916 to Feb…HABS TEX,162-EAPA,5- (sheet 1 of 3) - Will Stone House, Ford and Adams Streets1933HABS TEX,162-EAPA,5- (sheet 1 of 3) - Will Stone Hous…HABS TEX,162-EAPA,5- (sheet 2 of 3) - Will Stone House, Ford and Adams Streets1933HABS TEX,162-EAPA,5- (sheet 2 of 3) - Will Stone Hous…HABS TEX,162-EAPA,5- (sheet 3 of 3) - Will Stone House, Ford and Adams Streets1933HABS TEX,162-EAPA,5- (sheet 3 of 3) - Will Stone Hous…Mexican section. Eagle Pass, Texas1939Mexican section. Eagle Pass, TexasIrrigation worker near Eagle Pass, Texas1939Irrigation worker near Eagle Pass, Texas
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
The story

How Eagle Pass came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Eagle Pass.

Read it all →

Eagle Pass was the first American settlement on the Rio Grande. Originally known as Camp Eagle Pass, it served as a temporary outpost for the Texas militia, which had been ordered to stop illegal trade with Mexico during the Mexican–American War. Eagle Pass is so named because the contour of the hills through which the Rio Grande flows bore a fancied resemblance to the outstretched wings of an eagle.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Eagle Pass, 1851 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851Post officeThe Fort Duncan post office opens
  3. 1852Post officeThe Fort Duncan post office closes
  4. 1852Post officeThe Eagle Pass post office opens
  5. 1887In the archiveOld map-Eagle Pass-1887
  6. 1895In the archiveMap of Camp Eagle Pass at
  7. 20th century
  8. 1903In the archiveMap of
  9. 1916In the archiveCo. H. 5th Maryland Inf. Eagle Pass Texas 1916 to Feb. 1917
  10. 1923Born hereLouis Lane is born here
  11. 1933In the archiveHABS TEX,162-EAPA,5- (sheet 1 of 3) - Will Stone House, Ford and Adams Streets
  12. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1962Born hereAlia M. Ludlum is born here
  14. 1972Born herePoncho Nevárez is born here
  15. 1994Born hereTres Barrera is born here
On the map

Eagle Pass on the map, 1958 to 1985

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

Eagle Pass on the 1958 USGS mapEagle Pass on the 1965 USGS mapEagle Pass on the 1985 USGS map1958Eagle Pass sheet · 1:250,000

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

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.

Co. H. 5th Maryland Inf. Eagle Pass Texas 1916 to Feb. 1917
Retake this viewCo. H. 5th Maryland Inf. Eagle Pass Texas 1916 to Feb. 1917, 1916

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Eagle Pass

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Fort Duncan
Fort DuncanMaverick County Courthouse
BuildingsDistricts
Fort DuncanDistrict
Maverick County CourthouseBuilding

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

People over time

Eagle Pass, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,000185019001950200028,130

Grew from 383 people in 1850 to 28,130 in 2020, more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Eagle Pass

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

See all →
L
Louis LaneAmerican conductor · b. 1923
A
Alia M. LudlumUnited States federal judge · b. 1962
P
Poncho NevárezAmerican politician · b. 1972
Tres BarreraBaseball Player · b. 1994
C
Connie Douglas ReevesCowgirl · b. 1901
Help out

Finish Eagle Pass’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCo. H. 5th Maryland Inf. Eagle Pass Tex…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Eidson RoadIts storyDSeco MinesIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFabricaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townChula VistaIts storyD

Questions about Eagle Pass’ history

What year was Eagle Pass founded?

The Eagle Pass post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Eagle Pass rank for history?

Eagle Pass is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #157 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 Pass?

Two places: the Fort Duncan (listed 1971) and the Maverick County Courthouse (1980).

How old are the homes in Eagle Pass?

6% of Eagle Pass’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1990.

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 (9), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.