Refugio’s post office opened in 1835, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 62% of U.S. towns · #88 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Refugio was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1967. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Refugio post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Refugio’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Refugio is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #88 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Refugio’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 Refugio’s 14.5 sits above most of its state (89% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.8 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 Refugio’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Before Spanish colonization, the site of present-day Refugio was a seasonal camp of the Karankawa people, particularly the Copane band. Spanish authorities knew the area by the mid-18th century, and José de Escandón considered it for a settlement and presidio.
Spain established Mission Nuestra Señora del Refugio on February 4, 1793 near Goff Bayou to minister to the Karankawa. After raids and supply issues, the mission moved to Mosquitos Creek in 1794 and then to its final location on the Mission River-the present townsite-on January 10, 1795. It was the last mission founded in Texas and was secularized in 1830.
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 Refugio post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Refugio rank for history?
Refugio is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #88 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 Refugio?
4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Refugio County Courthouse (listed 2002, the first), and 2 objects.
How old are the homes in Refugio?
2% of Refugio’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.
1880
1880
2015
