In 1827, a trading post was set up at Liverpool. A settlement existed in 1834 and two years later a schoolteacher was hired. The town was formally established in 1837. It became a shipping point from Stephen F. Austin's colony for wool, hides, and produce via Chocolate Bayou. A person called Commodore Nelson named the town after the English port Liverpool. A post office opened in the town in 1846, but closed in 1867. The population began to decline after the American Civil War until there were only 20 residents in 1884. Nevertheless, the post office reopened in 1879 and remained. By 1890, the population numbered 136. In 1906, the local whites-only schools counted three teachers and 48 students. By 1914, the town had grown to 400 residents and included a hotel and two general stores. The population decreased in the 1920s so that it was about 150 in 1966. By 1988, the population numbered …
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.