Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1934 on and the census since 1880.
The Waco post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Westfield (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
Waco was named after Waco, Texas, the hometown of an early settler.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Waco’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Waco.
Waco got its start in the year 1877 when the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was extended to that point. It was named after Waco, Texas, the hometown of an early settler.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Waco, cut from the printed page as they were published.
1877. B. & M. Railroad reached York and county has a railroad at last. Town site of Waco laid out. 1878. Liedke elected state auditor. Langworthy establishes York County Bank. 1879. Methodist Episcopal Conference Seminary at York. Red Lyon flour mill erected. B. & M. Railroad went on to Bradshaw.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
tunities ottered, decided to make the state his home and here he has resided ever since. Mr. Propst had practically nothing when he settled in Y'ork county and for tliree years he engaged as a farm laborer. His next venture was in the restaurant and confectionery business at Waco, which he successfully conducted for eighteen months, and at the termination of that period he entered the service of the Farmers and Traders Bank at Waco as assistant cashier. For four years he served in that capacity and then for another four years served as deputy county treasurer. In 1918 he was elected to the oflfice of treasurer and is still holding this position.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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 Waco. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Waco.
Between 166 and 310 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Waco’s Wikipedia page.
Waco’s post office has been open since 1877. Another post office, Westfield, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Waco post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), Wikipedia, 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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