Schulenburg’s post office opened in 1874, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #82 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Sengelmann Hall and City Meat Market Building, the Bedstead Truss Bridge and the Schulenburg Cotton Compress. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Schulenburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Schulenburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Schulenburg is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #82 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Schulenburg’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 Schulenburg’s 10.8 sits above most of its state (87% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.5 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 Schulenburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1831, the Mexican government granted 4,428 acres (1,792 ha) of land to Kesiah Crier. Crier's family and the James Lyons family were the first European-American settlers in the area. The town of Schulenburg developed from two nearby communities: Lyons, founded in 1842, and High Hill, settled in 1842 and later named in 1858.
In 1873, the Galveston, Harris and San Antonio Railroad bought land in the area. They built a depot on the portion formerly owned by Louis Schulenburg, and named it after him. The first train arrived on New Year's Eve of 1873, and the town was formally incorporated on May 24, 1875.
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.
The Schulenburg post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Schulenburg rank for history?
Schulenburg is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #82 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.
What is on the National Register in Schulenburg?
Three places: the Sengelmann Hall and City Meat Market Building (listed 2009), the Bedstead Truss Bridge (2013) and the Schulenburg Cotton Compress (1979).
How old are the homes in Schulenburg?
16% of Schulenburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1969.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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