History · Mason

Mason’s post office opened in 1858, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 200 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1870.

1858first post office

2on the National Register

18%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

4famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Mason’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Mason began

When was Mason founded?

1858

The Mason post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1861.

First census: 296 in 18702020 census: 2,121168 years

How historic is Mason?

A⁻

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Mason post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1861.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Mason’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mason is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mason’s overall grade.

Founding era1858, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194018.4% of homes (±11.4) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%B⁺National Register2 listings, 201 historic buildings, 1,006 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%

NewerOlder

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 Mason’s 1,006 sits above most of its state (100% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 201 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% 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 (±11.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1861 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Mason’s past

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

A historic districtThe Mason Historic District takes in 200 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18873 editions of the USGS map, 1887 to 1985. Watch Mason change.

★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 201 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

201

each building in a district counts

first listed

1974

Mason Historic District

BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Victorian2

Classical Revival1

Commercial1

Second Empire1

Gothic Revival1

Italianate1

Mason Historic DistrictClassical Revival

Reynolds-Seaquist HouseVictorian

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Mason’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2 Retake an old viewBroad Street Bridge, Spanning Comanche …: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

On the map

Mason on the map, 1887 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mason. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1887Mason sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Mason came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mason.

Read it all →

The first settler is thought to have been Peter S. Parker in 1846. The settlement of Mason grew up around Fort Mason, which was established by the United States War Department as a front-line defense against Kiowa, Lipan Apache, and Comanche, on July 6, 1851. George W. Todd established a Fort Mason post office March 8, 1858, which became consigned to the civilian settlement on June 26, 1858.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mason, 1858 to 1931

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

19th century
1858Post officeThe Mason post office opens
1874Born hereJim Baird is born here
1887On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20th century
1911Born hereLindsay Brown is born here
1912Born hereHugh Wolfe is born here
1931Born hereWanda Harper Bush is born here

By decade

Mason, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date

Broad Street Bridge, Spanning Comanche Creek at Broad Street

Date?Broad Street Bridge, Spanning Comanche Creek at Broad…

Today8 recent

2021Aerial photo

2018Rattler

2006Llano Watershed

2005Llano River at U.S. 87

2005Llano River at Ranch Road 2389

2005Llano River at RR 2389

2005James River Crossing

2004TXMap-doton-Mason

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this viewBroad Street Bridge, Spanning Comanche Creek at Broad Street

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Mason’s page.

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Mason, census by census

Between 296 and 2,456 people in every census since 1870.

10 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Mason

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

See all →

Hugh WolfeAmerican football player · b. 1912

Lindsay BrownAmerican baseball player · b. 1911

Jim BairdAmerican college football player · b. 1874

Wanda Harper BushAmerican barrel racer · b. 1931

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

Mason’s post office has been open since 1858.

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Mason

CrosbyNew GoochOld Gooch

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

Questions about Mason’s history

What year was Mason founded?

The Mason post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1861.

How does Mason rank for history?

Mason is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns. 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 Mason?

Two places: the Mason Historic District (listed 1974) and the Reynolds-Seaquist House (1974).

How old are the homes in Mason?

18% of Mason’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.4 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1969.

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 (8), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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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