Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Meridian

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
B−History
History · Meridian

Meridian’s post office opened in 1856, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Meridian was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968.

1856first post office
5on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Meridian began

When was Meridian founded?

1856

The Meridian post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,396170 years

How historic is Meridian?

B−

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Meridian post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Meridian’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Meridian is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Meridian’s overall grade.
Founding era1856, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.1% of homes (±3.6) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register5 listings, 30.5 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%
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 Meridian’s 30.5 sits above most of its state (92% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 5 listings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 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 Meridian’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 Meridian are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Meridian’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Meridian’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
On the National Register

5 historic places in Meridian

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Bosque County Courthouse
Bosque County CourthouseFirst National Bank BuildingLumpkin BuildingBridges-Johnson HouseBosque River Bridge
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Renaissance Revival1
Commercial1
Romanesque Revival1
2-part Commercial Block1
Dog Trot1
Bosque County CourthouseRenaissance Revival
First National Bank BuildingCommercial
Lumpkin Building2-part Commercial Block
All 5 listings
Bridges-Johnson HouseBuilding · listed 1979Bosque River BridgeStructure · listed 2025

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

The story so far

Meridian, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Meridian yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Meridian (pronounced muh-REE-dee-uhn by locals) is a city in and the county seat of Bosque County in Texas, United States. It is 47 miles northwest of Waco. Its population was 1,396 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,493 to 1,396 (-6%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Meridian, 1856 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Meridian post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1948Born hereBill Curtis is born here
  5. 1950Born hereWill Cureton is born here
By decade

Meridian, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Downtown Meridian Texas (1 of 1)2020Downtown Meridian Texas (1 of 1)Bosque River Bridge 15 (1 of 1)2020Bosque River Bridge 15 (1 of 1)Faded advertising mural for the Chisholm Trail Tradin' Post2014Faded advertising mural for the Chisholm Trail Tradin…Faded advertising mural for the Chisholm Trail Tradin' Post2014Faded advertising mural for the Chisholm Trail Tradin…Faded advertising mural for the Chisholm Trail Tradin' Post in Meridian, a town in Bosque County, Texas2014Faded advertising mural for the Chisholm Trail Tradin…TXMap-doton-Meridian2004TXMap-doton-Meridian
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Meridian

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

See all →
B
Bill CurtisSoftware engineer · b. 1948
W
Will CuretonAmerican football player · b. 1950

Questions about Meridian’s history

What year was Meridian founded?

The Meridian post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Meridian rank for history?

Meridian is more historic than 50% 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 Meridian?

5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Bosque County Courthouse (listed 1977, the first), and 1 structure.

How old are the homes in Meridian?

5% of Meridian’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1968.

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 (4), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.