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History · Paxton

Paxton’s post office opened in 1904

Most of Paxton was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1960.

1904first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Skye Marthaler · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Paxton began

When was Paxton founded?

1904

The Paxton post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 215 in 19602020 census: 556122 years
Founding year: the first Paxton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Paxton’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 Paxton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Paxton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Paxton’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
The story so far

Paxton, in brief

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

Its first post office opened in 1904. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 644 to 556 (-14%).

Timeline

Paxton, 1904 to 1949

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1904Post officeThe Paxton post office opens
  3. 1916Born hereWalter C. Beckham is born here
  4. 1928Post officeThe Paxton post office closes
  5. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Paxton, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Paxton Town Hall2014Paxton Town HallFLMap-doton-Paxton2004FLMap-doton-Paxton
On the map

Paxton on the map, 1949 to 1987

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

Paxton on the 1949 USGS mapPaxton on the 1950 USGS mapPaxton on the 1973 USGS mapPaxton on the 1987 USGS map1949Laurel Hill 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 Paxton.

People over time

Paxton, census by census

01002003004005006007001960198020002020Peak: 659

Between 215 and 659 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Paxton’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Paxton had its own post office from 1904 to 1928.

Paxton
1904–1928
19001960today
Gone or out of use
Ellis Agricultural Field Airportairport

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Paxton’s history

What year was Paxton founded?

The Paxton post office opened in 1904, 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 Wikimedia Commons (2), 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) 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.