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History · Hallsburg

Hallsburg’s post office opened in 1902

Most of Hallsburg was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1920 on and the census since 1980.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Hallsburg began

When was Hallsburg founded?

1902

The Hallsburg post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Elk (1894), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 455 in 19802020 census: 419124 years
Founding year: the first Hallsburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Hallsburg’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 Hallsburg are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19203 editions of the USGS map, 1920 to 1978. Watch Hallsburg change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hallsburg’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hallsburg’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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On the map

Hallsburg on the map, 1920 to 1978

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

Hallsburg on the 1920 USGS mapHallsburg on the 1957 USGS mapHallsburg on the 1978 USGS map1920Mart 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 Hallsburg.

The story so far

Hallsburg, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hallsburg yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Hallsburg is a city in McLennan County, Texas, United States. The population was 419 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1902. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 507 to 419 (-17%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Hallsburg, 1894 to 1920

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1894Post officeThe Elk post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902Post officeThe Hallsburg post office opens
  5. 1905Post officeThe Hallsburg post office closes
  6. 1906Post officeThe Elk post office closes
  7. 1920On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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People over time

Hallsburg, census by census

0100200300400500198020002020Peak: 518

Between 419 and 518 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hallsburg’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Hallsburg had its own post office from 1902 to 1905. Another post office, Elk, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Elk
1894–1906
Hallsburg
1902–1905
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Elk
1cemetery inside Hallsburg
Pavelka

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Hallsburg’s history

What year was Hallsburg founded?

The Hallsburg post office opened in 1902, 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 →
Start a conversation
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.