Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #1 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
74 places in town are on the National Register, among them 3 National Historic Landmarks and eight historic districts with 1,648 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1850.
The Galveston post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1785, the date of an exploration of the area, not of the town.
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Galveston is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #1 of 642 in Texas. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
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 Galveston’s 321 sits above most of its state (99% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 1,715 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 3 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier.
★ Landmark
★ Landmark
★ Landmark
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Galveston’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Galveston.
Indigenous inhabitants of Galveston Island called the island Auia. Though there is no certainty regarding their route and their landings, Cabeza de Vaca and his crew were shipwrecked at a place he called "Isla de Malhado" in November 1528. This could have referred to Galveston Island or San Luis Island.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Galveston, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The mercartile transactions for 1890 were estimated at al)0ut §14,000,000 Galveston, the capital of Galveston county and chief seaport in the State, is situated on the extreme northeast end of Galveston island, at the mouth of the bay of the same name. It was laid out in 1838. The first sale of town lots took place April 20 of that year.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
capacity till remo\-ed by General Griffin, military commander of this district, as an impediment to reconstruction. Captain Atkins was elected Sheriff of Galveston county in 1872 and held this office for four years, having served as a peace officer in the city of Galveston altogether for a period of fifteen years. In April, 1885, he became a candi-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveEastern Portion of Galveston Island, Texas and its Defences [Defenses]
BuiltSt. Mary's Cathedral is built
In the archiveTexas
Born hereJack Johnson is born hereBuiltBishop's Palace is built
Born hereKing Vidor is born here
BuiltGalveston Seawall is built
BuiltGalvez Hotel is built
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereBarry White is born here
Born hereLiana Liberato is born here2 decades in the archive, from the 1810s to the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Galveston. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Galveston.
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.
1885Sheet 1 of 19Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Galveston’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 4,177 and 67,175 people in every census since 1850.
18 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Galveston’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Galveston’s post office has been open since 1830.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Galveston post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1785.
Galveston is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #1 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.
74 listings, 3 of them National Historic Landmarks: 57 buildings, among them the Ashbel Smith Building (listed 1969, the first), 8 historic districts with 1,648 contributing buildings, 1 site, 7 structures, and 1 object. 1,715 historic buildings in all.
20% of Galveston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1973.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (74), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1855
1855
