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BHistory
History · Hamilton

Hamilton’s post office opened in 1861, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #102 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Hamilton County Courthouse. Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1880.

1861first post office
1on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hamilton began

When was Hamilton founded?

1861

The Hamilton post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 277 in 18802020 census: 2,895165 years

How historic is Hamilton?

B

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Hamilton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Hamilton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hamilton is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #102 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hamilton’s overall grade.
Founding era1861, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194016.4% of homes (±7.5) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 3.4 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 58%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 84%

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 Hamilton’s 3.4 sits above most of its state (79% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.5 points). 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 Hamilton’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 Hamilton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18884 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1985. Watch Hamilton change.Old housesHalf of Hamilton’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hamilton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hamilton’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Hamilton on the map, 1888 to 1985

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

Hamilton on the 1888 USGS mapHamilton on the 1894 USGS mapHamilton on the 1956 USGS mapHamilton on the 1985 USGS map1888Hamilton sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hamilton.

The story so far

Hamilton, in brief

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

Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Texas, United States, located in the state's central region. Its population was 2,895 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1861. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,095 to 2,895 (-6%).

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

By decade

Hamilton, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Manning gordon henderson house2014Manning gordon henderson houseHamilton tx post office2014Hamilton tx post officeHamilton tx post office stone2014Hamilton tx post office stoneHamilton-TX-11432011Hamilton-TX-11432010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBookHamilton, Texas, welcoming sign IMG 07722008Hamilton, Texas, welcoming sign IMG 0772
On the National Register

1 historic place in Hamilton

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Hamilton County Courthouse
Hamilton County Courthouse
Buildings
Hamilton County CourthouseBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Hamilton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,189

Between 277 and 3,189 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Hamilton’s history

What year was Hamilton founded?

The Hamilton post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Hamilton rank for history?

Hamilton is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #102 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 Hamilton?

One place: the Hamilton County Courthouse (listed 1980).

How old are the homes in Hamilton?

16% of Hamilton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1959.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.