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BHistory
History · Flatonia

Flatonia’s post office opened in 1870, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Flatonia was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 57 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.

1870first post office
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Flatonia’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Flatonia began

When was Flatonia founded?

1870

The Flatonia post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1874.

First census: 866 in 18802020 census: 1,308156 years

How historic is Flatonia?

B

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Flatonia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1874.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Flatonia’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Flatonia is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Flatonia’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.1% of homes (±5.9) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 57 historic buildings, 311 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 64%
NewerOlder

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 Flatonia’s 311 sits above most of its state (99% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 57 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1874 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Flatonia’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Flatonia Historic District takes in 57 historic buildings.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1922, drew every building in Flatonia.On the map since 19013 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1981. Watch Flatonia change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Flatonia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Flatonia’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFlatonia, Texas in 1881: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

1 listing protects 57 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
57
each building in a district counts
first listed
2017
Flatonia Historic District
Flatonia Historic District
Districts
All 1 listings
Flatonia Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2017

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

Every building

Flatonia, building by building, 1885–1922

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.

Flatonia 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.

The story

How Flatonia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Flatonia.

Read it all →

Established on April 8, 1874, on land that the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway acquired from William Alexander Faries (the family name is also spelled "Ferris" and "Farris"), the community was named after F. W. Flato, a local merchant and one of the first settlers, most of whom were Anglo American. Residents placed their homes in the former Flatonia settlement, one mile southeast of the current Flatonia, and in the community of Oso, 3 miles (5 km) northeast, on wagons and moved to the new location. The post office, established in the former Flatonia in 1870, moved to the new Flatonia with the same name. Flatonia was incorporated on November 10, 1875, and held its first election on December 6 of that year. In 1878, the town had 800 residents and an economy dependent on cattle and cotton.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Flatonia, 1870 to 1983

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Flatonia post office opens
  3. 1881In the archiveFlatonia, Texas in 1881
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1983Born hereShawn Willis is born here
By decade

Flatonia, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
Flatonia, Texas in 18811881Flatonia, Texas in 1881
1890s–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
Today6 recent
Flatonia Railroad Museum2026Flatonia Railroad MuseumOllie Hotel (1 of 1)2017Ollie Hotel (1 of 1)OlleHotel (1 of 1)2017OlleHotel (1 of 1)DowntownFlatoniaWiki2017DowntownFlatoniaWikiRaphael's Refuge Exterior2016Raphael's Refuge ExteriorSouthern Pacific Railway car, Flatonia, TX IMG 82142013Southern Pacific Railway car, Flatonia, TX IMG 8214
On the map

Flatonia on the map, 1901 to 1981

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

Flatonia on the 1901 USGS mapFlatonia on the 1965 USGS mapFlatonia on the 1981 USGS map1901Flatonia sheet · 1:125,000

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

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.

Flatonia, Texas in 1881
Retake this viewFlatonia, Texas in 1881, 1881

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Flatonia, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,383

Between 866 and 1,383 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Flatonia’s history

What year was Flatonia founded?

The Flatonia post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1874.

How does Flatonia rank for history?

Flatonia is more historic than 64% 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 Flatonia?

One place: the Flatonia Historic District (listed 2017).

How old are the homes in Flatonia?

9% of Flatonia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (7), 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.