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CHistory
History · Jonestown

1 of Jonestown’s places is on the National Register

More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #282 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Cox Springs School. Most of Jonestown was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2005. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1990.

1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Daniel Ziegler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

About Jonestown’s history

How historic is Jonestown?

C

More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Jonestown’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jonestown is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #282 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 Jonestown’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±1.1) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%D−National Register1 listing, 3.9 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 26%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 56%

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 Jonestown’s 3.9 sits above most of its state (80% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±1.1 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 Jonestown’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 Jonestown are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jonestown’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Jonestown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Jonestown.

Read it all →

Jonestown was developed by brothers Warren and Emmet A. Jones in the 1930s when they recognized the opportunity presented by the upcoming Mansfield Dam on the Colorado River. Once the dam was complete, Jonestown would become waterfront property along the Sandy Creek Arm and Big Devil's Hollow of the newly formed Lake Travis. The Jones brothers initially sold waterfront lots for $50 in 1939, raising the price to $100 and offering financing after complaints the original cost was too high.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Jonestown, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Jonestown Texas plaza2021Jonestown Texas plazaJones Brothers Park Jonestown Texas 20212021Jones Brothers Park Jonestown Texas 2021Inlet off sandy creek arm of lake Travis2021Inlet off sandy creek arm of lake TravisFootbridge from fireman’s to shady park2021Footbridge from fireman’s to shady parkFireman’s park2021Fireman’s parkCanyonlands trail in Jonestown Tex2021Canyonlands trail in Jonestown TexBridge at Canyonlands trail in Jonestown Tex2021Bridge at Canyonlands trail in Jonestown TexLake Travis aerial 20182018Lake Travis aerial 2018Aerial - Colorado River - Lake Travis 012015Aerial - Colorado River - Lake Travis 01The Lone Star Bar2010The Lone Star BarLaketravisaerial2005LaketravisaerialTXMap-doton-Jonestown2004TXMap-doton-Jonestown
On the map

Jonestown on the map, 1954 to 1986

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

Jonestown on the 1954 USGS mapJonestown on the 1974 USGS mapJonestown on the 1986 USGS map1954Austin sheet · 1:250,000

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Jonestown

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
2026
Cox Springs School
Cox Springs School
Buildings
All 1 listings
Cox Springs SchoolBuilding · listed 2026

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

People over time

Jonestown, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50020002020Peak: 2,365

Between 1,250 and 2,365 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Lago VistaIts storyDLeanderIts storyD

Questions about Jonestown’s history

How does Jonestown rank for history?

Jonestown is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #282 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 Jonestown?

One place: the Cox Springs School (listed 2026).

How old are the homes in Jonestown?

0.0% of Jonestown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2005.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.