More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #363 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Manvel was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2012. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1970.
Founding year: the first Manvel post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1662.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Manvel’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Manvel is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #363 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Manvel’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 Manvel’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 (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1662.
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 Manvel’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The W.R. Booth family first settled along Chocolate Bayou in 1857. In 1877, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad started a rail line out of Galveston to Arcola, and soon after a settlement called Pamona was established. However, there was another town in west Texas with the same name, so the community changed the name to Manvel, honoring a man who later became the president of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. The railroad reached the area in 1879.
A townsite was developed in 1890. The Manvel Post Office was first established in Manvel on September 22, 1892, at which time William N. Pugh was appointed postmaster.
In August 1960, the City of Manvel incorporated with a population of 300.
The Manvel post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1662.
How does Manvel rank for history?
Manvel is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #363 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 Manvel?
1% of Manvel’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2012.
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 (11), 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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