More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #421 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Mercedes was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1917 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first Mercedes post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1907.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mercedes’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mercedes is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #421 of 642 in Texas. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mercedes’ 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 Mercedes’ 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 is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1907 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 Mercedes’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Mercedes is known as "The Queen City of the Valley" or "La Reina del Valle". Mercedes was founded September 15, 1907, by the American Rio Grande Land & Irrigation Company, and was incorporated March 8, 1909. It is one of the oldest towns in the Rio Grande Valley, and the city celebrated its centennial in 2007.
The city was located in Capisallo Pasture, part of Capisallo Ranch owned by Jim Welles. This location was known as the Pear Orchard because of the vast numbers of prickly pear cactus growing there at that time.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mercedes. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1956Mercedes sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Mercedes.
Every building
Mercedes, building by building, 1917–1925
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 Mercedes post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1907.
How does Mercedes rank for history?
Mercedes is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #421 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 Mercedes?
5% of Mercedes’ 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 1991.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (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), 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.
1900
1917
1917
