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CHistory
History · Selma

Selma dates to 1847, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 31% of U.S. towns · #234 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Selma was built recently: 0.4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2010. Its Register listings are the Selma Stagecoach Stop and Post Office and the John S. Harrison House. Its Register listings are the Selma Stagecoach Stop and Post Office and the John S. Harrison House. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1970.

1847founded
2on the National Register
0.4%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Selma began

When was Selma founded?

1847

Selma dates its founding to 1847 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 207 in 19702020 census: 10,952179 years

How historic is Selma?

C

More historic than 31% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Selma’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Selma is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #234 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Selma’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19400.4% of homes (±0.6) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register2 listings, 1.7 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 31%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 64%

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 Selma’s 1.7 sits above most of its state (74% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1847.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Selma’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 Selma are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1847: 179 years of Selma.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Selma’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Selma’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
Timeline

Selma, 1847 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847
    FoundingSelma is established
  3. 1856Post officeThe Selma post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1906Post officeThe Selma post office closes
  6. 1915Post officeThe Luxello post office opens
  7. 1935Post officeThe Luxello post office closes
  8. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Selma came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Selma.

Read it all →

Selma was settled in 1847 by immigrants from several European countries. The name Selma is a traditional German feminine name. In 1849, the Harrison and Brown stagecoach stop was built in Selma to handle passengers and freight on the San Antonio to Austin stagecoach line. John Harrison and his wife Martha moved to Selma in 1852, and he became the first postmaster of the town when the post office opened in 1856. Harrison was also co-owner of the Harrison and McCulloch stage line, which ran a postal route through Selma. Harrison's house still stands by Cibolo Creek, where it was built and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Selma, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Real Life Amphitheater2023Real Life AmphitheaterI35 Long Exposure2020I35 Long ExposureJohn S. Harrison House in2018John S. Harrison House inSelma texas city hall 20142014Selma texas city hall 2014
On the map

Selma on the map, 1953 to 1992

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

Selma on the 1953 USGS mapSelma on the 1967 USGS mapSelma on the 1973 USGS mapSelma on the 1992 USGS map1953Schertz 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 Selma.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Selma

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2006
John S. Harrison House
Selma Stagecoach Stop and Post OfficeJohn S. Harrison House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Folk Victorian1
Selma Stagecoach Stop and Post OfficeBuilding
All 2 listings
John S. Harrison HouseBuilding · listed 2006

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Selma, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00019802000202010,952

Grew from 207 people in 1970 to 10,952 in 2020, more than tenfold.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Selma

Nobody well known was born in Selma itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Joan CrawfordAmerican actress · b. 1905
Michelle RodriguezAmerican actress · b. 1978
Robert RodriguezAmerican filmmaker · b. 1968
J
Jared PadaleckiAmerican actor · b. 1982
Megan Thee StallionAmerican rapper, singer and songwriter · b. 1995
Rick RiordanAmerican author · b. 1964
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Selma had its own post office from 1856 to 1906. Another post office, Luxello, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Selma
1856–1906
Luxello
1915–1935
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Luxello
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Selma
EnglemannGroteSahm

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.

Universal CityIts storyD−Schertz2 historic placesB−Live OakIts storyDSan Antonio144 historic placesA

Questions about Selma’s history

What year was Selma founded?

In 1847, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Selma’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1970 counted 207 people here.

How does Selma rank for history?

Selma is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #234 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 Selma?

Two places: the Selma Stagecoach Stop and Post Office (listed 2017) and the John S. Harrison House (2006).

How old are the homes in Selma?

0.4% of Selma’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2010.

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), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.