Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #343 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Lindale was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1960 on, and the census since 1910.
Lindale dates its founding to 1871 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lindale is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #343 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Lindale’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lindale’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Lindale.
The area of Smith County where Lindale sits was inhabited long before the town was founded in 1871. In the early 19th century, the Caddo Indians were the area's primary inhabitants; their artifacts can still be found along streams in the area. The area also was home to Cherokee Indians, who were forced out when the Republic of Texas was founded in 1836.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereLexie Dean Robertson is born here
In the archiveTwilight of Steam - Lindale Roundhouse (1952) a painting by James C. Kulhanek
Born hereJames "Wally" Brewster, Jr. is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereAlexandra Mollenhauer is born hereOne decade in the archive so far: the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lindale. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lindale.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lindale’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 658 people in 1910 to 6,059 in 2020, 9 times over.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lindale’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Lindale’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, Lyndale, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1871, according to Wikidata. Lindale’s post office opened in 1873, and the census of 1910 counted 658 people here.
Lindale is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #343 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.
2% of Lindale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1995.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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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