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History · Zavalla

Zavalla’s post office opened in 1901

Most of Zavalla was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988.

1901first post office
0on the National Register
0.9%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Zavalla began, and where its name came from

When was Zavalla founded?

1901

The Zavalla post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 603125 years

How did Zavalla get its name?

Zavalla was named for the Tejano politician and diplomat Lorenzo de Zavala.

Founding year: the first Zavalla post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Zavalla’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 Zavalla are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Zavalla’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
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0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Zavalla came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Zavalla.

Read it all →

Zavalla was established in 1900 when the Texas and New Orleans Railroad was built through the area and was initially called Zavalla Prairie. It was named for the Tejano politician and diplomat Lorenzo de Zavala. A post office was built in 1901. Zavalla had a population of 100 to 200 people in its first few decades, which increased to 450 by 1945 and to 900 in 1974 before declining.

Zavalla was officially incorporated in 1975 due to the expansion of the nearby Sam Rayburn Reservoir, having been an unincorporated community since its establishment.

The Zavalla Police Department disbanded in May 2026 after a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement investigation found that department failed to meet state safety standards.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Zavalla, decade by decade

Today1 recent
TXMap-doton-Zavalla2004TXMap-doton-Zavalla

Questions about Zavalla’s history

What year was Zavalla founded?

The Zavalla post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.