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History · Edmonson

Edmonson’s post office opened in 1937, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1970.

1937first post office
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Edmonson began

When was Edmonson founded?

1937

The Edmonson post office opened in 1937, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Running Water (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 99 in 19702020 census: 8689 years
Founding year: the first Edmonson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Edmonson’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 Edmonson are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 291 in 1980; 86 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Edmonson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Edmonson’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
People over time

Edmonson, census by census

0100200300198020002020Peak: 291

Peaked at 291 in 1980; 86 people lived here in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

The story so far

Edmonson, in brief

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

Edmonson is a town in Hale County, Texas, United States. The population was 86 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1937. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 111 to 86 (-23%).

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

Timeline

Edmonson, 1891 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Running Water post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1937Post officeThe Running Water post office closes
  5. 1937Post officeThe Edmonson post office opens
  6. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 291
By decade

Edmonson, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Red grain sorghum crop at Joe Reed's field in Edmonson, Texas2010Red grain sorghum crop at Joe Reed's field in Edmonso…Joe Reed, Edmonson, TX, standing by his red grain sorghum crop2010Joe Reed, Edmonson, TX, standing by his red grain sor…Joe Reed standing in his defoliated cotton crop, Kress, TX2010Joe Reed standing in his defoliated cotton crop, Kres…Joe Reed standing by his crop of red grain sorghum, near Edmonson, TX2010Joe Reed standing by his crop of red grain sorghum, n…Joe Reed in his field of cotton, near Kress, TX2010Joe Reed in his field of cotton, near Kress, TXJoe Reed farms red grain sorghum, corn and cotton in Edmonson and Kress, TX2010Joe Reed farms red grain sorghum, corn and cotton in …Joe Reed checks his red grain sorghum crop, near Edmonson, TX2010Joe Reed checks his red grain sorghum crop, near Edmo…Joe Reed checking his corn crop in Edmonson, TX2010Joe Reed checking his corn crop in Edmonson, TX
On the map

Edmonson on the map, 1965 to 1985

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

Edmonson on the 1965 USGS mapEdmonson on the 1985 USGS map1965Edmonson 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 Edmonson.

Famous people

Famous people close to Edmonson

Nobody well known was born in Edmonson itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
James H. ClarkAmerican entrepreneur and computer scientist · b. 1944
Maurice EwingAmerican geophysicist and oceanographer · b. 1906
Buddy KnoxAmerican singer and songwriter · b. 1933
G
Gilbert FordAmerican basketball player and business executi… · b. 1931
Jodey ArringtonU.S. Representative from Texas · b. 1972
W
Wendy BruceGymnast · b. 1973
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Edmonson’s post office has been open since 1937. Another post office, Running Water, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Running Water
1891–1937
Edmonson
1937–today
18901960today

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

Questions about Edmonson’s history

What year was Edmonson founded?

The Edmonson post office opened in 1937, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (8), 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.