Most of Realitos was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: maps from 1967 on and the census since 2000.
The population of Realitos had reached a total of 400 people in 1890, four years after the first post office was established there. The population peaked as an estimated 800 were living there just two years later. The population thereupon began to decrease, with numbers such as 225 residents being reported in 1914. In the 1960s, Realitos still had a running school, but it consolidated with Benavides in the middle of the next decade. Many buildings remain in the small, unincorporated community today including a pool hall (now closed), store, and gas station.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.