Hearne’s post office opened in 1869, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #147 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Hearne was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Its Register listing is the Robert C. Allen House. Its Register listing is the Robert C. Allen House. Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Hearne post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hearne’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hearne is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #147 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 Hearne’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 Hearne’s 2.2 sits above most of its state (76% 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 C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.5 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 Hearne’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.
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.
Famous people
9 famous people were born in Hearne
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Hearne is located on land that initially belonged to politician and soldier José Francisco Ruiz. By the 1840s, a tavern was located there, and it also served as a general store and post office. The Hearne family moved to the area in the 1850s, purchasing 10,000 acres and operating cotton plantations. Christopher C. Hearne wanted a railroad line built through the area, but the Civil War started before the railroad could be constructed. His widow later gave 700 acres to the Houston and Texas Central Railway.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Hearne, census by census
Between 1,421 and 5,418 people in every census since 1880.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hearne’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Hearne’s history
What year was Hearne founded?
The Hearne post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hearne rank for history?
Hearne is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #147 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 Hearne?
One place: the Robert C. Allen House (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in Hearne?
9% of Hearne’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1970.
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), 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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