La Porte’s post office opened in 1892, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #209 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of La Porte was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Its Register listing is the Sylvan Beach Pavilion. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1916 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first La Porte post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives La Porte’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, La Porte is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #209 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 La Porte’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 Porte’s 0.3 sits above most of its state (70% 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 C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 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 Porte’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The community of La Porte was founded in 1892 as a speculative real estate venture by an investment group. A 22-acre (0.089 km2) public space known as Sylvan Grove was reserved by the waterfront. The area around Sylvan Grove soon was developed with amenities including bathhouses, boating piers, and a Victorian hotel with a dance pavilion. La Porte quickly became the most popular tourist destination in the Houston area. Sylvan Grove Park was acquired in 1896 by a company known as Adoue and Lobit and renamed Sylvan Beach. Cottage retreats were built around the waterfront.
The La Porte post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does La Porte rank for history?
La Porte is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #209 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 La Porte?
One place: the Sylvan Beach Pavilion (listed 2010).
How old are the homes in La Porte?
3% of La Porte’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1983.
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, 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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