More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #425 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Talty was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 2000.
Founding year: the first Talty post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1999.
History grade
What drives Talty’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Talty is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #425 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Talty’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 Talty’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 D to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1999.
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 Talty’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Talty yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Talty is a city in Kaufman County, Texas, United States. Its population was 1,535 at the 2010 census, and in 2020 the population was 2,500. Incorporated on May 1, 1999, as the Town of Talty, the name was formally changed to City of Talty in 2015. Don Willett, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and former Texas Supreme Court justice, is from Talty.
Its first post office opened in 1899. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,535 to 2,500 (+63%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Talty, 1899 to 1956
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Talty. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1956Kaufman sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Talty.
People over time
Talty, census by census
Grew from 1,028 people in 2000 to 2,500 in 2020.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Talty’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Talty had its own post office from 1899 to 1901.
Talty
1899–1901
18901960today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Talty’s history
What year was Talty founded?
The Talty post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1999.
How does Talty rank for history?
Talty is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #425 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.
How old are the homes in Talty?
0.0% of Talty’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2004.
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 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.
