Spring’s post office opened in 1873, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #278 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Spring was built recently: 0.1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Its Register listing is the Wunsche Bros. Saloon and Hotel. Its Register listing is the Wunsche Bros. Saloon and Hotel. Below: maps from 1916 on and the census since 1990.
Founding year: the first Spring post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Spring’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Spring is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #278 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 Spring’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 Spring’s 0.1 sits above most of its state (69% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.1 points) is firm at this size. 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 Spring’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The large geographic area now known as Spring was originally inhabited by the Orcoquiza Native Americans. In 1836, the Texas General Council of the Provisional Government placed what is now the town of Spring in the Harrisburg municipality. In 1838, William Pierpont placed a trading post on Spring Creek. In 1840, the town of Spring had 153 residents. By the mid-1840s, many German immigrants, including Gus Bayer and Carl Wunsche, moved to the area and began farming. People from Louisiana and other parts of the post-Civil War southern U.S. settled in Spring. The main cash crops in Spring were sugar cane and cotton; residents also grew vegetables.
The Spring post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Spring rank for history?
Spring is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #278 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 Spring?
One place: the Wunsche Bros. Saloon and Hotel (listed 1984).
How old are the homes in Spring?
0.1% of Spring’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1993.
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 (1), 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.
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011