Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1960.
The Rio Vista post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rio Vista is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Rio Vista’s 53.4 sits above most of its state (94% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rio Vista’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rio Vista. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Rio Vista.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rio Vista yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Its first post office opened in 1885. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 873 to 1,008 (+15%).
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Grew from 284 people in 1960 to 1,008 in 2020, 3 times over.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rio Vista’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Rio Vista itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Rio Vista post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Rio Vista is more historic than 60% 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.
Two places: the Meredith Hart House (listed 1977) and the Smith Ranch (2007).
10% of Rio Vista’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±13.9 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1999.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (2), 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.
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