More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #325 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Nederland was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1950.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1898.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Nederland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Nederland is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #325 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Nederland’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 Nederland’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 C. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1897.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Nederland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Nederland was founded in 1897 by Dutch settlers as a repayment for financial services of Dutch bankers who financed the Kansas City Southern railroad line that runs through the center of the city. (Nederland, which literally translates to "Lowland", is the Dutch name for the Netherlands.) The more prominent families were named Rienstra, Doornbos, and Van Oostrom, and their descendants still live in the area today. Tradition says they were attracted to the flat coastal terrain that reminded them of their homeland (although the heat most certainly did not).
In 1897, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Nederland’s post office opened in 1898, and the census of 1950 counted 3,805 people here.
How does Nederland rank for history?
Nederland is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #325 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 Nederland?
3% of Nederland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 (6), 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.
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