Helotes’ post office opened in 1873, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #287 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Helotes was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. Its Register listing is the Floore Country Store. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1990.
Founding year: the first Helotes post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1880.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Helotes’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Helotes is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #287 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Helotes’ 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 Helotes’ 1.0 sits above most of its state (72% 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 D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1880 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Helotes’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
According to anthropologists, the area was occupied seasonally from about 5,000 BCE by small bands of nomadic Native American tribes in search of food and game. The Lipan Apache moved into the area in the late 17th century and occupied it throughout the 18th century. However, the Lipan were forced from the area in the early 1820s by the Comanche Indians.
The Helotes post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1880.
How does Helotes rank for history?
Helotes is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #287 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 Helotes?
One place: the Floore Country Store (listed 2005).
How old are the homes in Helotes?
0.0% of Helotes’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2006.
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 (11), 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) 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.
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