Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #105 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Salado was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. 18 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1980.
The Salado post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Salado is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #105 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 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 Salado’s 202 sits above most of its state (98% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 45 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% 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 Salado’s history is told.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Peaked at 3,475 in 2000; 2,394 people lived here in 2020.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Salado’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Salado.
Archaeological evidence of a Paleolithic Native American settlement dating back about 15,500 years, the Buttermilk Creek Complex, has been unearthed in Salado.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
BuiltCol. Elijah Sterling Clack Robertson Plantation is built
Born hereJames E. Ferguson is born here
Born hereLiz Carpenter is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Salado. 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 Salado.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Salado post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Salado is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #105 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.
18 listings: 18 buildings, among them the Maj. A. J. Rose House (listed 1978, the first), and 1 historic district, the Stagecoach Inn, with 7 contributing buildings. 45 historic buildings in all.
6% of Salado’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 (19), 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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