Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The Stockdale post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stockdale is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Stockdale’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stockdale’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Stockdale. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Stockdale.
From Wikipedia’s history of Stockdale.
Previously an area named High Prairie, Free Timber and Bunker's Store, Stockdale was named after Fletcher Stockdale, the lieutenant governor of Texas, when the town was established in 1863. In 1898 the San Antonio and Mexican Gulf Railroad reached Stockdale. The town was incorporated in 1919, and Stockdale's annual Watermelon Jubilee began in 1937.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Between 97 and 1,442 people in every census since 1880.
11 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Stockdale’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Stockdale itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Stockdale post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Stockdale is more historic than 26% 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.
7% of Stockdale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1985.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (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.
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