Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 2% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Dexter was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1910.
The Dexter post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lakevan (1897), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 2% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dexter is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
New Mexico towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical New Mexico town has 2.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Dexter’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of New Mexico towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
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 Dexter’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Dexter yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Dexter is a town in Chaves County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, Dexter had a population of 1,074.
Its first post office opened in 1902. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,266 to 1,074 (-15%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dexter.
1950Dexter East sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Dexter.
Between 242 and 1,266 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dexter’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Dexter itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Dexter’s post office has been open since 1902. Another post office, Lakevan, 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 Dexter post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Dexter is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns. 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.
0.0% of Dexter’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1988.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), 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.
2004
