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DHistory
History · Magnolia

Magnolia’s post office opened in 1893

More historic than 14% of U.S. towns · #400 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Magnolia was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2008. Below: maps from 1985 on and the census since 1970.

1893first post office
0on the National Register
0.3%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Stedil · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Magnolia began

When was Magnolia founded?

1893

The Magnolia post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1968. Another post office, Mink (1885), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 315 in 19702020 census: 2,359133 years

How historic is Magnolia?

D

More historic than 14% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Magnolia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1968.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Magnolia’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Magnolia is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #400 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Magnolia’s overall grade.
Founding era1893, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.3% of homes (±0.5) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical TX town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 14%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 38%

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 Magnolia’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 D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1968.

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 Magnolia’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Magnolia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Magnolia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Magnolia’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Magnolia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Magnolia.

Read it all →

The first settlement in the Magnolia area was a town named Mink Prairie, founded in about 1845 when a farmer named Mink built a homestead. By 1850, the town's name was shortened to Mink. After the Civil War, Mink's population swelled due to an influx of settlers from Kentucky and Tennessee, resulting in a post office being built in 1885. In 1902, the International-Great Northern Railroad (now operated by Union Pacific), decided to build a railroad to the north of Mink, causing most of the residents of Mink to move closer to the railroad line. The new town was named Melton in honor of a wealthy landowner who lived in the area. However, the postal service kept confusing the name with a different town called "Milton," prompting local officials to change the name to Magnolia. In 1903, the Mink post office moved to the new town of Magnolia, as the old town of Mink would soon become abandoned.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Magnolia, 1885 to 2000

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885Post officeThe Mink post office opens
  3. 1893Post officeThe Magnolia post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903Post officeThe Mink post office closes
  6. 1961Born hereBen Leman is born here
  7. 1982Born hereNick Mitchell is born here
  8. 1985On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1999Born hereJordan Groshans is born here
  10. 21st century
  11. 2000Born hereMichael Woods II is born here
By decade

Magnolia, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Unity Park2017Unity ParkThe East Magnolia High School on the good side of the tracks2017The East Magnolia High School on the good side of the…Magnolia Stroll2017Magnolia StrollMagnolia Stroll entrance2017Magnolia Stroll entranceMagnolia Stroll Public Art2017Magnolia Stroll Public ArtMagnolia Historic Depot2017Magnolia Historic DepotALPHA Academy2017ALPHA AcademyMagnolia Texas Sonic Drive in2011Magnolia Texas Sonic Drive inFire ^ Wildfire - Magnolia, Texas, September 22, 2011 --A telephone repairman works on restoring service to Magnolia, T…2011Fire ^ Wildfire - Magnolia, Texas, September 22, 2011…Fire ^ Wildfire - Magnolia, Texas, September 22, 2011 --A FEMA Housing Inspector talks with a home owner whose home was…2011Fire ^ Wildfire - Magnolia, Texas, September 22, 2011…SanJacinto Watershed2006SanJacinto WatershedTXMap-doton-Magnolia2004TXMap-doton-Magnolia
On the map

Magnolia on the map in 1985

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Magnolia.

Magnolia on the 1985 USGS map1985Conroe sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Magnolia.

People over time

Magnolia, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001980200020202,359

Grew from 315 people in 1970 to 2,359 in 2020, 7 times over.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Magnolia’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Magnolia

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
N
Nick MitchellAmerican professional wrestler, mixed martial a… · b. 1982
Jordan GroshansAmerican baseball player · b. 1999
M
Michael Woods IIAmerican football player · b. 2000
Ben LemanTexas politician · b. 1961
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Magnolia’s post office has been open since 1893. Another post office, Mink, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mink
1885–1903
Magnolia
1893–today
18801950today
1cemetery inside Magnolia
Tillis Prairie

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

PinehurstIts storyD

Questions about Magnolia’s history

What year was Magnolia founded?

The Magnolia post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1968.

How does Magnolia rank for history?

Magnolia is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #400 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 Magnolia?

0.3% of Magnolia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2008.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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), 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.