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C+History
History · Riesel

Riesel’s post office opened in 1891, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1891first post office
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Riesel began

When was Riesel founded?

1891

The Riesel post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Prospect (1890), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 1,062135 years

How historic is Riesel?

C+

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Riesel post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Riesel’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Riesel is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Riesel’s overall grade.
Founding era1891, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194017.3% of homes (±9.5) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical TX town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 39%
NewerOlder

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 Riesel’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 B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.5 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 Riesel’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Riesel are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Riesel’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Riesel’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Riesel came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Riesel.

Read it all →

Riesel, Texas, named after W.H. Riesel, one of the original settlers who built a Cotton gin there, has been growing steadily since being settled around 1880–1890. With the exception of a small decrease from 1930 to 1950, Riesel's population has continued to grow to a point where the town currently has over 1,000 residents.

A new power plant has increased city funds and the population. In early May, 2010, voters approved a $25,000,000 bond for the Riesel Independent School District that would build a new high school, administration building, and softball and baseball fields, among other things.

Before Riesel, the town was formerly known as Roddy and then Prospect.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Riesel, 1890 to 1891

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Prospect post office opens
  3. 1891Post officeThe Prospect post office closes
  4. 1891Post officeThe Riesel post office opens
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
Famous people

Famous people close to Riesel

Nobody well known was born in Riesel itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jennifer Love HewittAmerican actress and singer · b. 1979
S
Steve MartinAmerican comedian, actor, musician and writer · b. 1945
Ashlee SimpsonAmerican singer and actress · b. 1984
C. Wright MillsAmerican sociologist · b. 1916
E. Donnall ThomasAmerican hematologist · b. 1920
Corinne GriffithAmerican actress, film producer, author · b. 1894
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Riesel’s post office has been open since 1891. Another post office, Prospect, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Prospect
1890–1891
Riesel
1891–today
18901960today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Riesel’s history

What year was Riesel founded?

The Riesel post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Riesel rank for history?

Riesel is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns. 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 Riesel?

17% of Riesel’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.5 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1979.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

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 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.