More historic than 30% of U.S. towns · #244 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Richardson was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1959 on, and the census since 1930.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1852.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Richardson’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Richardson is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #244 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 Richardson’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Richardson ranks #304 on History.
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 Richardson’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.
Newer cities are common at Richardson’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1840.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Richardson’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Emigrants from Kentucky and Tennessee settled near present-day Richardson in the 1840s. Before the Civil War, a small settlement called Breckenridge, located near present-day Richland College, was established. In 1873, the Houston and Texas Central Railway built a depot northwest of Breckenridge. After the H.&T.C. purchased acreage for a townsite from two local land-owners, the site was surveyed and laid out in blocks and lots, which the railroad began selling in 1874. The town was named after the secretary of the Houston & Texas Central Railroad, Alfred S. Richardson.
Passages that mention Richardson, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Memorial and biographical history of Dallas county, Texas ... Containing a history of this important section of the great state of Texas, from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time ... and biographical mention of many of its pioneers, a1892Read the page →
Read the text
wife of the Feldin Robinson, and the family now reside in various States, two in Texas and two in Kentucky; William J., a merchant of Richardson. Dallas county, lias served as Justice of the Peace of this county for several years. He came to this State in 1852; our subject is the next in order of birth; Mary, is the widow of S. Y. Garrison,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Richardson, decade by decade
5 decades in the archive, from the 1840s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
In 1840, according to Wikidata. Richardson’s post office opened in 1852, and the census of 1930 counted 629 people here.
How does Richardson rank for history?
Richardson is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #244 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 Richardson?
0.2% of Richardson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 (6), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
c. 1900
