Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Kountze

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
C+History
History · Kountze

Kountze dates to 1881, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Kountze was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Its Register listing is the Kirby-Hill House.

1881founded
1on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Kountze began

When was Kountze founded?

1881

Kountze dates its founding to 1881 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). Its post office opened in 1882.

2020 census: 1,981145 years

How historic is Kountze?

C+

More historic than 37% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1882.
History grade

What drives Kountze’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kountze is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns. 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 Kountze’s overall grade.
Founding era1881, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.0% of homes (±2.6) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 4.2 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 37%
NewerOlder

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 Kountze’s 4.2 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1881.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Kountze’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 Kountze are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kountze’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Kountze, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Kountze yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Kountze ( koonts) is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,981 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area. Kountze was originally established as a railroad town in 1881. The city was named for Herman and Augustus Kountze, financial backers of the Sabine and East Texas Railroad. The seat of Hardin County, Kountze boasts an area of more than 89% forested lush green terrain. The local area produces over 3.5 million board feet (8,300 m3) of lumber annually. Kountze describes itself as "The Gateway to the Big Thicket". The thicket is a vast area of tangled, often impenetrable woods, streams, and marshes …

Kountze was established in 1881. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,123 to 1,981 (-7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Kountze, 1881 to 1969

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881
    FoundingKountze is established
  3. 1882Post officeThe Kountze post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1969Born hereKeith Alex is born here
By decade

Kountze, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Kirby hill house kountze texas 20142014Kirby hill house kountze texas 2014Hardin county tx courthouse 20142014Hardin county tx courthouse 2014Smith promotion on Mackinaw DVIDS11187532012Smith promotion on Mackinaw DVIDS1118753Smith promotion on Mackinaw DVIDS11187522012Smith promotion on Mackinaw DVIDS1118752TXMap-doton-Kountze2004TXMap-doton-Kountze
On the National Register

1 historic place in Kountze

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
1999
Kirby-Hill House
Kirby-Hill House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
Queen Anne1
Kirby-Hill HouseColonial Revival

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

Questions about Kountze’s history

What year was Kountze founded?

In 1881, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Kountze’s post office opened in 1882.

How does Kountze rank for history?

Kountze is more historic than 37% 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 Kountze?

One place: the Kirby-Hill House (listed 1999).

How old are the homes in Kountze?

3% of Kountze’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1995.

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.