Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1886.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Goldthwaite’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Goldthwaite is more historic than 68% 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 Goldthwaite’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 Goldthwaite’s 16.3 sits above most of its state (89% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.0 points). Two sources give 1885.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
Goldthwaite existed as a small village prior to the arrival of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway in 1885. The population increased after the railway began selling lots. The town is named after George (Joe) Goldthwaite (1836–1892), an employee at the railway. Goldthwaite was once known as "the City of Windmills" because of the large number of water wells in the city; by around 1900, almost every household had one.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.4 km2), all land.
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.
In 1885, according to Wikidata. Goldthwaite’s post office opened in 1886.
How does Goldthwaite rank for history?
Goldthwaite is more historic than 68% 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 Goldthwaite?
Two places: the Mills County Jailhouse (listed 1979) and the Mills County Courthouse (2000).
How old are the homes in Goldthwaite?
19% of Goldthwaite’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.0 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
1888
1898
1907
