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C+History
History · Montgomery

Montgomery’s post office opened in 1837

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #164 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Montgomery was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2013. Below: maps from 1959 on and the census since 1880.

1837first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Stedil · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Montgomery began

When was Montgomery founded?

1837

The Montgomery post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1848.

First census: 414 in 18802020 census: 1,948189 years

How historic is Montgomery?

C+

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Montgomery post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1848.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Montgomery’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Montgomery is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #164 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Montgomery’s overall grade.
Founding era1837, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19405.7% of homes (±6.8) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical TX town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 44%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 75%

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 Montgomery’s 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 C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1848 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 Montgomery’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 Montgomery are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1880 and 1970, then grew 9-fold.Deep rootsA post office since 1837: 189 years of Montgomery.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Montgomery’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Montgomery’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
People over time

Montgomery, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020414 in 1880Low: 216

Lost half of its people between 1880 and 1970, then grew 9-fold.

7 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Timeline

Montgomery, 1837 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Montgomery post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1933Born hereSweet Daddy Siki is born here
  5. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1999Born hereKimberly Rodríguez is born here
  7. 21st century
  8. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,948
The story

How Montgomery came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Montgomery.

Read it all →

The town of Montgomery was founded in the middle of the Lake Creek Settlement by W. W. Shepperd in July 1837 on 200 acres of land that had originally been part of the John Corner League. Shepperd had established the first store in the settlement in 1835; his partner John Wyatt Moody and he named the town Montgomery.

Montgomery became the first county seat of Montgomery County shortly after the county was created on December 14, 1837. It was the third county formed during the Republic of Texas. The county originally extended from the Brazos River to the Trinity. The city was officially incorporated in 1848 with Judge Nathaniel Hart Davis as mayor.

ChaptersEtymologyBirthplace of the Lone Star Flag

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Montgomery, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Montgomery Business District2017Montgomery Business DistrictLake Creek Settlement Marker2017Lake Creek Settlement MarkerFernland Entrance2017Fernland EntranceAngelanobles.com (Unsplash)2016Angelanobles.com (Unsplash)Arnold simonton house 20082008Arnold simonton house 2008
On the map

Montgomery on the map, 1959 to 1997

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

Montgomery on the 1959 USGS mapMontgomery on the 1976 USGS mapMontgomery on the 1997 USGS map1959Montgomery 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 Montgomery.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Montgomery

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

See all →
K
Kimberly RodríguezMexican-American soccer player · b. 1999
S
Sweet Daddy SikiAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1933
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Montgomery’s post office has been open since 1837.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Peel Junction
1cemetery inside Montgomery
Montgomery

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

Questions about Montgomery’s history

What year was Montgomery founded?

The Montgomery post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1848.

How does Montgomery rank for history?

Montgomery is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #164 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 Montgomery?

6% of Montgomery’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2013.

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 (5), Wikidata (1), 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.