Lockhart’s post office opened in 1848, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #20 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Lockhart was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 67 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1870.
The Lockhart post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Plum Creek (1841), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 560 in 18702020 census: 14,379178 years
How historic is Lockhart?
A−
More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Lockhart post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lockhart’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lockhart is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #20 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lockhart’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 Lockhart’s 45.7 sits above most of its state (94% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 70 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points). 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 Lockhart’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Lockhart, building by building, 1888–1922
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The city of Lockhart is named after Byrd Lockhart, an assistant surveyor of Green DeWitt and reportedly the first Anglo to set foot in Caldwell County. Lockhart was the site of a victory of the Texans over the Comanche, at the Battle of Plum Creek in 1840. Lockhart was originally called "Plum Creek." In 1848, Lockhart was named the county seat and was incorporated with a mayor-council government in 1852; by the end of the decade, the town had over 400 residents, with a newspaper, a school, a Masonic Hall, and five churches.
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.
Lockhart’s post office has been open since 1848. Another post office, Plum Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Plum Creek
1841–1874
Lockhart
1848–today
18401930today
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lockhart
GuadalupeHooksSan Pablo
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Lockhart’s history
What year was Lockhart founded?
The Lockhart post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lockhart rank for history?
Lockhart is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #20 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 Lockhart?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Emmanuel Episcopal Church (listed 1974, the first), and 1 historic district, the Caldwell County Courthouse Historic District, with 67 contributing buildings. 70 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Lockhart?
10% of Lockhart’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1986.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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