More historic than 19% of U.S. towns · #340 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of La Marque was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1929 on, and the census since 1960.
Founding year: the first La Marque post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives La Marque’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, La Marque is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #340 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of La Marque’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 La Marque’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (34% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 La Marque’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
La Marque, also once known as Highlands and Buttermilk Station, is an incorporated residential community on Interstate Highway 45, State Highway 3, and Farm Roads 519, 1765, and 2004, some 12 miles northwest of Galveston in northwestern Galveston County. The community was originally known as Highlands, probably for its location near Highland Creek, and was renamed in the 1890s when residents learned of another mainland community of the same name. Madam St. Ambrose, a French Catholic Ursuline Sister and postmistress, chose the new name, which in French means "the mark".
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The La Marque post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does La Marque rank for history?
La Marque is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #340 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.
How old are the homes in La Marque?
2% of La Marque’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 1977.
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), 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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