Jacksonville’s post office opened in 1850, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #152 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Jacksonville was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Its Register listings are the William Walter Newton House, the Aber and Haberle Houses and the Jacksonville Post Office. Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Jacksonville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1872.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Jacksonville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jacksonville is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #152 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jacksonville’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 Jacksonville’s 4.2 sits above most of its state (80% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% 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 (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1872 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 Jacksonville’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
26 famous people were born in Jacksonville
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Jacksonville began in 1847 as the town of Gum Creek. Jackson Smith built a home and blacksmith shop in the area and became postmaster in 1848, when a post office was authorized. Shortly afterward, Dr. William Jackson established an office near Smith's shop. When the townsite was laid out in 1850, the name Jacksonville was chosen in honor of these two men. The name of the post office was changed from Gum Creek to Jacksonville in June 1850.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Jacksonville, census by census
Between 349 and 14,544 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Jacksonville’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Jacksonville’s post office has been open since 1850.
Hamlets and corners on the map
MittiePomona
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Jacksonville
GrimesJacksonville CityResthaven
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Jacksonville’s history
What year was Jacksonville founded?
The Jacksonville post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1872.
How does Jacksonville rank for history?
Jacksonville is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #152 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 Jacksonville?
Three places: the William Walter Newton House (listed 1982), the Aber and Haberle Houses (1984) and the Jacksonville Post Office (2004).
How old are the homes in Jacksonville?
5% of Jacksonville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 (3), 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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