Gatesville’s post office opened in 1854, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #161 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Gatesville was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Its Register listings are the Coryell County Courthouse, the Leon Street Bridge at the Leon River and the Gatesville Downtown Historic District. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Gatesville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gatesville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gatesville is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #161 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gatesville’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 Gatesville’s 1.8 sits above most of its state (75% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Gatesville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Gatesville was established in 1854 on land donated by Richard G. Grant. The name was taken from Fort Gates, which had been established in 1849 about 5 miles to the west.
Gatesville was the western terminus of the Texas and St. Louis Railway, with the town having been reached in 1882. This line later became the core of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company, commonly known as the Cotton Belt.
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.
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.
The Gatesville post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Gatesville rank for history?
Gatesville is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #161 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 Gatesville?
Three places: the Coryell County Courthouse (listed 1977), the Leon Street Bridge at the Leon River (2017) and the Gatesville Downtown Historic District (2026).
How old are the homes in Gatesville?
6% of Gatesville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
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