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History · Orchard

Orchard’s post office opened in 1893, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1980.

1893first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Djmaschek · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Orchard began

When was Orchard founded?

1893

The Orchard post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 408 in 19802020 census: 313133 years
Founding year: the first Orchard post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Orchard’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 Orchard are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Orchard’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Orchard’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
The story so far

Orchard, in brief

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

Orchard is a city in western Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The community is located along State Highway 36 (SH 36) and the BNSF Railway between Rosenberg in Fort Bend County and Wallis in Austin County. The population was 313 at the 2020 census, down from 352 at the 2010 census.

Its first post office opened in 1893. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 352 to 313 (-11%).

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

By decade

Orchard, decade by decade

Today9 recent
Orchard Texas Former School Plaque2018Orchard Texas Former School PlaqueOrchard TX Town Center 20182018Orchard TX Town Center 2018Orchard TX Water Tower2013Orchard TX Water TowerOrchard TX Town Center2013Orchard TX Town CenterOrchard TX Sign Hwy 362013Orchard TX Sign Hwy 36Orchard TX Post Office2013Orchard TX Post OfficeOrchard TX Hwy 36 FM 14892013Orchard TX Hwy 36 FM 1489Orchard TX Freight Train2013Orchard TX Freight TrainOrchard TX Brazos Elem School2013Orchard TX Brazos Elem School
On the map

Orchard on the map, 1955 to 1980

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

Orchard on the 1955 USGS mapOrchard on the 1971 USGS mapOrchard on the 1980 USGS map1955Richmond 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 Orchard.

People over time

Orchard, census by census

0100200300400198020002020Peak: 408

Between 313 and 408 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Orchard

Nobody well known was born in Orchard itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Renée ZellwegerAmerican actress · b. 1969
D
Dan RatherAmerican broadcast journalist · b. 1931
H
Horton FooteAmerican playwright and screenwriter · b. 1916
Andy DaltonAmerican football player · b. 1987
Dobie GrayAmerican singer and songwriter · b. 1940
B
Brittney KarbowskiAmerican actress · b. 1986

Questions about Orchard’s history

What year was Orchard founded?

The Orchard post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (9), 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.