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Texas - San Benito through San JuanPhoto: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided · Public domain
C−History
History · San Diego

San Diego’s post office opened in 1867

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #294 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of San Diego was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1963 on, and the census since 1880.

1867first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From San Diego’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How San Diego began

When was San Diego founded?

1867

The San Diego post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,572 in 18802020 census: 3,748159 years

How historic is San Diego?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives San Diego’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, San Diego is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #294 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of San Diego’s overall grade.
Founding era1867, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.8% of homes (±3.8) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational 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 24%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 54%

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 San Diego’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 C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 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 San Diego’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 5,225 in 1980; 3,748 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start San Diego’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewTexas - San Benito through San Juan: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

San Diego, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 5,225

Peaked at 5,225 in 1980; 3,748 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on San Diego’s Wikipedia page.

The story so far

San Diego, in brief

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

San Diego is a city in Duval and Jim Wells counties, Texas, United States. The population was 3,748 at the 2020 census and 4,488 at the 2010 census. It is located primarily in Duval County, of which it is the county seat.

Its first post office opened in 1867. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,488 to 3,748 (-16%).

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

Timeline

San Diego, 1867 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867Post officeThe San Diego post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901Born hereGeorge Berham Parr is born here
  5. 1903Born hereBob Osborn is born here
  6. 1917In the archiveTexas - San Benito through San Juan
  7. 1950Born hereSylvia Garcia is born here
  8. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 5,225
By decade

San Diego, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s2 items
Texas - San Benito through San Juan1917Texas - San Benito through San JuanTexas - San Benito through San Juan1917Texas - San Benito through San Juan
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
Duval courthouse2008Duval courthouseUSMC-202532006USMC-20253USMC-202302006USMC-20230USMC-199362006USMC-19936
On the map

San Diego on the map, 1963 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of San Diego. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

San Diego on the 1963 USGS mapSan Diego on the 1985 USGS map1963San Diego sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of San Diego.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Texas - San Benito through San Juan
Retake this viewTexas - San Benito through San Juan, 1917

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on San Diego’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in San Diego

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

See all →
Sylvia GarciaAmerican politician · b. 1950
G
George Berham ParrAmerican politician and felon · b. 1901
Bob OsbornAmerican baseball player · b. 1903
Places that used to be

Old corners

San Diego’s post office has been open since 1867.

Hamlets and corners on the map
County Road 111 Colonia

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Loma Linda EastIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about San Diego’s history

What year was San Diego founded?

The San Diego post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does San Diego rank for history?

San Diego is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #294 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 San Diego?

6% of San Diego’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1969.

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 (6), 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.