More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #335 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Potosi was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2005. Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 1990.
Founding year: the first Potosi post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Potosi’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Potosi is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #335 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 Potosi’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 Potosi’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 is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 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 Potosi’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first settlers in the area were the Pollard family in the 1870s. In 1893, R.A. Pollard applied for a post office and chose the name Potosi after the Mexican city of San Luis Potosí. An estimated 100 inhabitants were living in the community in 1896. By 1940, 80 residents, a school, a church, four businesses, and a number of dwellings were there. In 1949, Potosi's school consolidated with the Wylie Independent School District.
The Potosi post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Potosi rank for history?
Potosi is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #335 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 Potosi?
3% of Potosi’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2005.
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 (1), 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.
2004
