Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 3% of U.S. towns · #591 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Sullivan City was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1990.
The Sullivan City post office opened in 1935, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 3% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sullivan City is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #591 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls 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 Sullivan City’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 Sullivan City’s history is told.
Sullivan City’s post office has been open since 1935.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikipedia’s history of Sullivan City.
Sullivan City was named for Captain Ed Sullivan, a World War veteran, who owned a ranch. The town was formally opened in 1908. In 1911, the town was incorporated, with Sam Hargrove as mayor. William Jennings Bryan purchased land in the area in 1910, and he established a store and filling station.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sullivan City. 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 Sullivan City.
Between 2,371 and 4,002 people in every census since 1990.
4 censuses, 1990–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sullivan City’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Sullivan City itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Sullivan City post office opened in 1935, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Sullivan City is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #591 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.
0.0% of Sullivan City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1997.
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 the Library of Congress (4), 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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