More historic than 14% of U.S. towns · #414 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Rowlett was built recently: 0.1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: maps from 1959 on and the census since 1960.
Founding year: the first Rowlett post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Rowlett’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rowlett is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #414 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rowlett’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 Rowlett’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 D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.1 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 Rowlett’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Rowlett derives its name from Rowlett Creek, which flows into Lake Ray Hubbard and is a major tributary of the east fork of the Trinity River. The creek in turn was named for a waterway running through the property of Daniel Rowlett who moved from Kentucky to Bonham, Texas, in 1835. Daniel, who was a member of the Smoot-Rowlett political family, had no direct dealings with the town that now bears his name.
The first post office opened on April 5, 1880, and it was called "Morris" after Postmaster Austin Morris.
The Rowlett post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Rowlett rank for history?
Rowlett is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #414 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 Rowlett?
0.1% of Rowlett’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1997.
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 (3), 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.
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