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History · Valera

Valera’s post office opened in 1886, and 69% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1892 on.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
69%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Valera began

When was Valera founded?

1886

The Valera post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 94140 years
Founding year: the first Valera post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Valera’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Valera are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18923 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1985. Watch Valera change.Old housesHalf of Valera’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Valera’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Valera’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Valera on the map, 1892 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Valera. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Valera on the 1892 USGS mapValera on the 1967 USGS mapValera on the 1985 USGS map1892Ballinger sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Valera.

The story so far

Valera, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Valera yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Valera is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Coleman County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, Valera had a population of 94.

Its first post office opened in 1886.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Valera

Nobody well known was born in Valera itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
M
Madylin SweetenAmerican actress · b. 1991
Rogers HornsbyAmerican baseball player, coach, manager · b. 1896
F
Frank LewisOlympic medalist in wrestling · b. 1912
S
Sawyer SweetenAmerican child actor · b. 1995
John HankeAmerican businessman · b. 1967
Case KeenumAmerican football player · b. 1988

Questions about Valera’s history

What year was Valera founded?

The Valera post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.