Mineral Wells’ post office opened in 1882, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns · #59 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 128 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Mineral Wells post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1900.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mineral Wells’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mineral Wells is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #59 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 Mineral Wells’ 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 Mineral Wells’ 85.9 sits above most of its state (95% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 131 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1900.
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 Mineral Wells’ 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
Mineral Wells, building by building, 1900–1921
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.
In 1919, Mineral Wells hosted the spring training camp for the Chicago White Sox, the year of the famous "Black Sox" scandal involving "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. Mineral Wells also hosted spring training for the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals in the 1910s and early 1920s. The baseball field was located in the center of town. On April 28, 2026, the city was struck by an EF-3 tornado, injuring five people and causing $2.3 million in damage.
Mineral Wells' military history dates back to 1864 with the organization of Company 1, 4th Texas Infantry. By January 1925, the War Department approved the site that would become Camp Wolters, the training ground for the 56th Cavalry Brigade of the Texas National Guard.
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 Mineral Wells. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1927Mineral Wells sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Mineral Wells.
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 viewMineral Wells from East Mountain, 1906
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Mineral Wells’ page.
The Mineral Wells post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1900.
How does Mineral Wells rank for history?
Mineral Wells is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #59 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 Mineral Wells?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the First Presbyterian Church (listed 1979, the first), and 1 historic district, the Mineral Wells Central Historic District, with 128 contributing buildings. 131 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Mineral Wells?
13% of Mineral Wells’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (4), 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.
1906
1907
c. 1917
1917
