Pasadena’s post office opened in 1893, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #214 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Pasadena was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Its Register listings are the James and Jessie West Mansion, the Pomeroy Homestead and the Pasadena Post Office. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1915 on, and the census since 1930.
The Pasadena post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Red Bluff (1880), Deepwater (1894) and Golden Acres (1946), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,647 in 19302020 census: 151,950133 years
How historic is Pasadena?
C
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Pasadena post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pasadena’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pasadena is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #214 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pasadena’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Pasadena ranks #292 on History.
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 Pasadena’s 0.3 sits above most of its state (70% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Pasadena’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Pasadena’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Prior to European settlement the area around Galveston Bay was settled by the Karankawa and Atakapan tribes, particularly the Akokisa, who lived throughout the Gulf coast region. Spanish explorers such as the Rivas-Iriarte expedition and José Antonio de Evia charted the bay and gave it its name. The pirate Jean Lafitte established a short-lived kingdom based in Galveston in the early 19th century with bases and hide-outs around the bay and around Clear Lake. Lafitte was forced to leave in 1821 by the U.S. Navy.
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.
The Pasadena post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Pasadena rank for history?
Pasadena is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #214 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 Pasadena?
Three places: the James and Jessie West Mansion (listed 1994), the Pomeroy Homestead (2003) and the Pasadena Post Office (2022).
How old are the homes in Pasadena?
1% of Pasadena’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1977.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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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