Port Aransas’ post office opened in 1911, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns · #290 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Port Aransas was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 4 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1925 on, and the census since 1940.
From Port Aransas’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Port Aransas began
When was Port Aransas founded?
1911
The Port Aransas post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Ropesville (1888) and Tarpon (1896), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 495 in 19402020 census: 2,904115 years
How historic is Port Aransas?
C
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Port Aransas post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Port Aransas’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Port Aransas is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #290 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Port Aransas’ 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 Port Aransas’ 15.3 sits above most of its state (89% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 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 Port Aransas’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Karankawa Indians were living a nomadic existence in the region when Spaniards, led by Alonso Álvarez de Pineda, probed the coast in 1519. Governor Francisco de Garay of Jamaica had commissioned him to explore the Gulf Coast from Florida to Vera Cruz. In the summer of 1519, Piñeda, took a fleet of four ships east to west around the Gulf Coast exploring and mapping five passes along the Texas coastline, including what is known today as Aransas Pass.
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 Port Aransas post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Port Aransas rank for history?
Port Aransas is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #290 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 Port Aransas?
Two places: the Aransas Pass Light Station (listed 1977) and the Tarpon Inn (1979).
How old are the homes in Port Aransas?
0.8% of Port Aransas’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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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