Most of Jones Creek was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1970.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jones Creek is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns. 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 Jones Creek’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 Jones Creek’s 38.4 sits above most of its state (93% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Jones Creek’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Father of Texas, Stephen F. Austin, first settled in Jones Creek. His original grave resides in the Gulf Prairie Cemetery located on Gulf Prairie Road in Jones Creek. Emily Austin Perry (Stephen F. Austin's sister) and her second husband, James Franklin Perry settled in Jones Creek too at the now historic Peach Point Plantation. Jones Creek is named for Randal Jones, a military leader of early lower Brazos Anglo colonists. Jones led the June 22, 1824, attack on a group of Karankawa Indians on the banks of a certain small stream of water in the lower Brazos region. Afterwards this particular creek near the San Bernard River became associated with the name "Jones", and the event was noted in history as the Battle of Jones Creek. Thereafter, the area around the creek became described as Jones Creek too.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Questions about Jones Creek’s history
How does Jones Creek rank for history?
Jones Creek is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns. 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 Jones Creek?
One place: the Durazno Plantation (listed 1980).
How old are the homes in Jones Creek?
2% of Jones Creek’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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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