More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #442 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Abernathy was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1966. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1925 on, and the census since 1930.
Founding year: the first Abernathy post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Abernathy’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Abernathy is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #442 of 642 in Texas. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Abernathy’s overall grade.
Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Abernathy’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (34% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
What stands out about Abernathy’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Santa Fe Railroad wanted to follow a straight line from Plainview to Lubbock. A straight-line survey was run, and it went east of the present site of Abernathy. This route did not please the residents of Hale Center, which had been established since the 1890s. They influenced the Santa Fe to come southwest out of Plainview to serve them, and from there the Santa Fe followed an approximate straight line into Lubbock.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Abernathy’s history
What year was Abernathy founded?
The Abernathy post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Abernathy rank for history?
Abernathy is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #442 of 642 in Texas. 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.
How old are the homes in Abernathy?
5% of Abernathy’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (1), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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