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History · Gail

Gail’s post office opened in 1891

Most of Gail was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: maps from 1969 on.

1891first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Leaflet · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Gail began

When was Gail founded?

1891

The Gail post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 249135 years
Founding year: the first Gail post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Gail’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 Gail are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gail’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Gail came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gail.

Read it all →

Founded in 1891 to coincide with the organization of Borden County, Gail has served as county seat for the duration of its existence. Borden County had remained quite sparsely populated until 1903, when the locally famed "War of Ribbons", inspired by a state-sanctioned land grab, took place. The conflict took its name from the practice of established ranchers displaying their affiliation and identity by way of a blue ribbon on their sleeves, whereas new settlers to the area designated theirs with a similarly placed red ribbon. By 1910, Gail was home to more than 700 residents, and though this would decline to 600 by 1912, the community remained the economic and administrative hub of Borden County. Changes in agricultural practices and patterns, coupled with the impact of the Great Depression, hindered the town and county's prosperity. By 1936, Gail's population had dwindled to 250 resid…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Gail, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Borden County, TX, School IMG 17952011Borden County, TX, School IMG 1795Borden County, TX stadium IMG 17962011Borden County, TX stadium IMG 1796Borden County Museum in Gail, TX IMG 17922011Borden County Museum in Gail, TX IMG 1792Bi-Centennial Park, Gail, TX IMG 17942011Bi-Centennial Park, Gail, TX IMG 1794Borden County Texas Courthouse 20102010Borden County Texas Courthouse 2010Borden County High School Gail Texas 20102010Borden County High School Gail Texas 2010
On the map

Gail on the map, 1969 to 1986

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

Gail on the 1969 USGS mapGail on the 1986 USGS map1969Gail 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 Gail.

Questions about Gail’s history

What year was Gail founded?

The Gail post office opened in 1891, 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 →
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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 (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.