Sulphur Springs’ post office opened in 1871, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #155 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Sulphur Springs was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Its Register listing is the Hopkins County Courthouse. Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1860.
Founding year: the first Sulphur Springs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sulphur Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sulphur Springs is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #155 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sulphur Springs’ 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 Sulphur Springs’ 0.6 sits above most of its state (71% 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 C to B−. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 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 Sulphur Springs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Famous people
15 famous people were born in Sulphur Springs
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Sulphur Springs [sic] was named so because when the area was first settled, springs of sulfurous water were abundant.
Eli Bib, one of the first European-American settlers, ran a store from his cabin, selling staples, whiskey, persimmon beer, and slabs of ginger cake. In 1849, Dr. and Mrs. Davis moved into the area. Dr. Davis envisioned the spot as a future city. In 1850, the residents organized the area's first church, the Methodist Episcopal. Construction of the church was completed in 1853. In 1852, the Presbyterian Church was organized. At that time, the population of the village was 441. To serve the growing population, commodities began to be brought in from nearby Jefferson. New stores were established.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sulphur Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1964Sulphur Springs 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 Sulphur Springs.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Sulphur Springs
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Sulphur Springs, census by census
Grew from 621 people in 1860 to 15,941 in 2020, more than tenfold.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sulphur Springs’ Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners
Sulphur Springs’s post office has been open since 1871.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Rockdale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Sulphur Springs’ history
What year was Sulphur Springs founded?
The Sulphur Springs post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Sulphur Springs rank for history?
Sulphur Springs is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #155 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 Sulphur Springs?
One place: the Hopkins County Courthouse (listed 1977).
How old are the homes in Sulphur Springs?
9% of Sulphur Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1976.
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, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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