Mineola dates to 1873, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 61% of U.S. towns · #94 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Mineola was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 53 buildings. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1875.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mineola’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mineola is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #94 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mineola’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 Mineola’s 107 sits above most of its state (96% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 54 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% 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 (±7.5 points). Two sources give 1873.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Mineola’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Mineola, building by building, 1885–1922
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.
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.
Mineola came into existence when the railroads built lines through the eastern part of the state. In 1873, the Texas and Pacific and the International-Great Northern raced to see which could get to Mineola first. The I-GN reached the finish 15 minutes earlier. A city government was organized in 1873, a post office opened in 1875, and the town was incorporated in 1877, but a fire in the 1880s destroyed 18 buildings. The town's oldest paper, the Mineola Monitor, was founded in 1876. By 1890, the town had seven churches, several schools including a black free school, hotels, banks. In 1895, Mineola became the site of the Wood County Fair.
In 1873, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Mineola’s post office opened in 1875, and the census of 1880 counted 1,175 people here.
How does Mineola rank for history?
Mineola is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #94 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.
What is on the National Register in Mineola?
Two places: the Lott, Howard L. and Vivian W.,House (listed 1998) and the Mineola Downtown Historic District (2013).
How old are the homes in Mineola?
8% of Mineola’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (9), 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), 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.
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