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C+History
History · Pearsall

Pearsall’s post office opened in 1881, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #174 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Pearsall was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Its Register listing is the Old Frio County Jail. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1890.

1881first post office
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pearsall’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pearsall began

When was Pearsall founded?

1881

The Pearsall post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 766 in 18902020 census: 7,325145 years

How historic is Pearsall?

C+

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Pearsall post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Pearsall’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pearsall is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #174 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 Pearsall’s overall grade.
Founding era1881, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.5% of homes (±4.5) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 1.1 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 42%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 73%

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 Pearsall’s 1.1 sits above most of its state (73% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±4.5 points). 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 Pearsall’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1930 and 1940, then grew 6-fold.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1900 to 1912, drew every building in Pearsall.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pearsall’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pearsall’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Pearsall, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00019001920194019601980200020202,536 in 1930Low: 1,198

Lost half of its people between 1930 and 1940, then grew 6-fold.

13 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Every building

Pearsall, building by building, 1900–1912

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.

Pearsall fire insurance map, 1900, sheet 11900Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story so far

Pearsall, in brief

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

Pearsall ( PEER-sawl) is a city in and the county seat of Frio County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,325 at the 2020 census, down from 9,146 at the 2010 census.

Its first post office opened in 1881. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 9,146 to 7,325 (-20%).

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

Timeline

Pearsall, 1880 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Texas - Frio County - ED 82-1 - ED 82-10
  3. 1881Post officeThe Pearsall post office opens
  4. 1893Born hereGene Bailey is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1959Born hereBrad Wright is born here
  8. 21st century
  9. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 9,146
By decade

Pearsall, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s3 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Texas - Frio County - ED 82-1 - ED 82-1018801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Texas - Frio …1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Texas - Frio County - ED 82-1 - ED 82-1018801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Texas - Frio …1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Texas - Frio County - ED 82-1 - ED 82-1018801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Texas - Frio …
1890s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today9 recent
PearsallTexasOaks1 (1 of 1)2018PearsallTexasOaks1 (1 of 1)Pearsall-tx2015-22015Pearsall-tx2015-2Pearsall-tx2015-12015Pearsall-tx2015-1Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church2012Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic ChurchPearsall (TX) Town Hall IMG 04792009Pearsall (TX) Town Hall IMG 0479Frio County, TX, Cemetery IMG 04772009Frio County, TX, Cemetery IMG 0477First United Methodist Church of Pearsall, TX IMG 04862009First United Methodist Church of Pearsall, TX IMG 0486First Baptist Church of Pearsall, TX IMG 04892009First Baptist Church of Pearsall, TX IMG 0489Best Western in Pearsall, TX IMG 04932009Best Western in Pearsall, TX IMG 0493
On the map

Pearsall on the map, 1927 to 1982

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

Pearsall on the 1927 USGS mapPearsall on the 1964 USGS mapPearsall on the 1982 USGS map1927Pearsall 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 Pearsall.

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Texas - Frio County - ED 82-1 - ED 82-10
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Texas - Frio County - ED 82-1 - ED 82-10, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Pearsall’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Pearsall

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Old Frio County Jail
Old Frio County Jail
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
Old Frio County JailVictorian

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Pearsall

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

See all →
Gene BaileyAmerican baseball player · b. 1893
B
Brad WrightAmerican football player and coach · b. 1959
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Pearsall’s post office has been open since 1881.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Alta Vista ColoniaFrio Heights ColoniaWest Pearsall
1cemetery inside Pearsall
Pearsall

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

North PearsallIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Pearsall’s history

What year was Pearsall founded?

The Pearsall post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Pearsall rank for history?

Pearsall is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #174 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 Pearsall?

One place: the Old Frio County Jail (listed 1979).

How old are the homes in Pearsall?

7% of Pearsall’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1978.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.