Georgetown’s post office opened in 1848, and 61 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns · #57 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Georgetown was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2008. 61 places in town are on the National Register, among them five historic districts with 137 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: the first Georgetown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Georgetown’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Georgetown is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #57 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Georgetown’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Georgetown ranks #175 on History.
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 Georgetown’s 22.6 sits above most of its state (91% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 194 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Georgetown’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 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 Georgetown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Georgetown was named for George Washington Glasscock, who donated the land for the new town. Early American and Swedish pioneers were attracted to the area's abundance of timber and good, clear water. In addition, the land was inexpensive and fertile. Georgetown is the county seat of Williamson County, which was formed on March 13, 1848, after the early settlers petitioned the state legislature to create it from a portion of Milam County. The county was originally to have been named San Gabriel County, but was instead named after Robert McAlpin Williamson (known as "Three-legged Willie"), a Texas statesman and judge at the time.
Passages that mention Georgetown, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Early history of Texas. Early history of Williamson County. The Webster massacre. Williamson County Court House sketches. Sketches of early days in Taylor1920Read the page →
Read the text
ing” the matter was deferred until the following Monday. At the later meeting the court met according to adjournment and took under advisement the erection of a court house in the center of the square in the town of Georgetown, and having considered the propriety of appropriating public means to the best advantage, having regard for durability as well as public convenience, the court therefore decreed that the said house should be built of rock.”
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.
Timeline
Georgetown, 1848 to 1990
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born 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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Georgetown. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1928Round Rock 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 Georgetown.
Every building
Georgetown, building by building, 1885–1916
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 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Retake this viewThe Black Wax area of Texas is the outstanding cotton producing section of the western cotton belt. Near Georgetown, Te…, 1938
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Georgetown’s page.
The Georgetown post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Georgetown rank for history?
Georgetown is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #57 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 Georgetown?
61 listings: 56 buildings, among them the Tinnen House (listed 1970, the first), and 5 historic districts with 137 contributing buildings. 194 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Georgetown?
2% of Georgetown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2008.
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 Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (61), 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.
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