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C+History
History · Sabinal

Sabinal’s post office opened in 1854, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1854first post office
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Renegomezphotography · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Sabinal began

When was Sabinal founded?

1854

The Sabinal post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,364172 years

How historic is Sabinal?

C+

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Sabinal’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sabinal is more historic than 41% 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 Sabinal’s overall grade.
Founding era1854, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194019.0% of homes (±7.6) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%B+National 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 41%
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 Sabinal’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 (±7.6 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 Sabinal’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 Sabinal are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sabinal’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sabinal’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 so far

Sabinal, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sabinal yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Sabinal is a city in Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,364 at the 2020 census, down from 1,695 in 2010. It is part of the Uvalde, Texas Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1854. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,695 to 1,364 (-20%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Sabinal, 1854 to 1951

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854Post officeThe Sabinal post office opens
  3. 1869Born hereMariette Rheiner Garner is born here
  4. 1887Born hereSue May Gill is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900Born herePaul J. Kilday is born here
  7. 1951Born hereJohnny Rodriguez is born here
By decade

Sabinal, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Downtown2024DowntownWaitingstation2008WaitingstationTXMap-doton-Sabinal2004TXMap-doton-SabinalRoad 187 at2000Road 187 at
Famous people

4 famous people were born in Sabinal

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Johnny RodriguezAmerican singer · b. 1951
Mariette Rheiner GarnerSecond Lady of the United States · b. 1869
Paul J. KildayAmerican politician · b. 1900
S
Sue May GillAmerican artist · b. 1887

Questions about Sabinal’s history

What year was Sabinal founded?

The Sabinal post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Sabinal rank for history?

Sabinal is more historic than 41% 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 Sabinal?

19% of Sabinal’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1978.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.