The St. Hedwig post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Cottage Hill (1860), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,227149 years
How historic is St. Hedwig?
C−
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first St. Hedwig post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives St. Hedwig’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Hedwig is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. Hedwig’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 St. Hedwig’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 (±3.9 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 St. Hedwig’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town was founded by John Demmer in 1852 when he moved to the area from his native Silesia (modern day Poland). In 1856, four more Silesians immigrated to the area and built the site's first Catholic Church, Annunciation (under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio). In 1860, a post office named Cottage Hill was opened, but was later renamed St. Hedwig after the patron saint of Silesia. By 1868, the community had built a stone church, and in 1897, the town boasted 200 families, mainly from Poland and Germany. To this day, most of the area's residents can trace their ancestry back to Poland and Germany.
Another post office, Cottage Hill, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Cottage Hill
1860–1877
Saint Hedwig
1877–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Hedwig
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about St. Hedwig’s history
What year was St. Hedwig founded?
The St. Hedwig post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does St. Hedwig rank for history?
St. Hedwig is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. 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 St. Hedwig?
3% of St. Hedwig’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1997.
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 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.
