Most of Edgewood was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Its Register listing is the William H. and Molly P. Humphries House. Its Register listing is the William H. and Molly P. Humphries House. Below: maps from 1962 on and the census since 1880.
The Edgewood post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Barren Ridge (1850), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 83 in 18802020 census: 1,530149 years
How historic is Edgewood?
C+
More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Edgewood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Edgewood’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Edgewood is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns. 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 Edgewood’s overall grade.
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 Edgewood’s 5.2 sits above most of its state (82% 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 (±3.9 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 Edgewood’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Edgewood yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Edgewood is a city in Van Zandt County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,530 at the 2020 census. The town draws its name from its location on the far western edge of the East Texas timberline on U.S. Highway 80, approximately 60 miles east of Dallas.
Its first post office opened in 1877. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,441 to 1,530 (+6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Edgewood, 1850 to 1968
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Edgewood’s post office has been open since 1877. Another post office, Barren Ridge, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Barren Ridge
1850–1857
Edgewood
1877–today
18501940today
1cemetery inside Edgewood
Oak Hill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Edgewood’s history
What year was Edgewood founded?
The Edgewood post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Edgewood rank for history?
Edgewood is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns. 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 Edgewood?
One place: the William H. and Molly P. Humphries House (listed 2004).
How old are the homes in Edgewood?
4% of Edgewood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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