Farmers Branch’s post office opened in 1848, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #148 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Farmers Branch was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. Its Register listing is the Samuel and Julia Gilbert House. Below: maps from 1931 on and the census since 1950.
The Farmers Branch post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1850. Another post office, Farmer's Branch (1848), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 915 in 19502020 census: 35,991178 years
How historic is Farmers Branch?
B−
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Farmers Branch post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Farmers Branch’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Farmers Branch is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #148 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Farmers Branch’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 Farmers Branch’s 0.3 sits above most of its state (70% 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 (±0.3 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1850.
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 Farmers Branch’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1842, Thomas Keenan, Isaac B. Webb, and William Cochran received original land grants in the area. By 1843, a community called Mustang Branch had been established. Mr. Cochran later changed the name to Farmers Branch to reflect the area's rich soil and farmland. Farmers Branch was the first location of the Texan Land and Emigration Company (or Peters Colony) in 1845. This made the community one of the best-known places in Dallas County during the 1840s because of its advertising throughout Europe and the United States. Baptist minister William Bowles opened a blacksmith shop and gristmill in 1845. On May 5, 1845, Isaac B. Webb donated land for Webb's Chapel Methodist Church, the first formal place of worship in Dallas County. A school was established in the church one year later. Webb became the first postmaster at the Farmers Branch post office, which opened on January 5, 1848. It c…
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Farmers Branch. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1931Carrollton sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Farmers Branch.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Farmers Branch
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Farmers Branch post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1850.
How does Farmers Branch rank for history?
Farmers Branch is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #148 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 Farmers Branch?
One place: the Samuel and Julia Gilbert House (listed 1988).
How old are the homes in Farmers Branch?
0.3% of Farmers Branch’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2001.
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 (1), 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) 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.
2006
