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History · Anton

Anton dates to 1924

Most of Anton was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1964. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1957 on, and the census since 1940.

1924founded
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Anton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Anton began

When was Anton founded?

1924

Anton dates its founding to 1924 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1940.

First census: 548 in 19402020 census: 907102 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1925.The full story ↓

What stands out about Anton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,212 in 1990; 907 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Anton’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Anton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Anton’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAnton Texas dustbowl downtown in 1937 b…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Anton, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20019401960198020002020Peak: 1,212

Peaked at 1,212 in 1990; 907 people lived here in 2020.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

The story

How Anton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Anton.

Read it all →

Anton was founded in 1924 near the center of the north pasture of the former Spade Ranch when ranch owner William Leonard Ellwood contracted with the Anton Townsite Company to plat a town at the site of Danforth Switch, a spur of the Pecos and Northern Texas Railway. The town was named in honor of J.F. Anton, a Santa Fe railroad executive.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Anton, 1924 to 1990

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1924
    FoundingAnton is established
  3. 1925Post officeThe Anton post office opens
  4. 1935Born hereJoaquin Jackson is born here
  5. 1937In the archiveAnton Texas dustbowl downtown in 1937 by Dorothea Lange
  6. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 1,212
By decade

Anton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s3 items
Anton Texas dustbowl downtown in 1937 by Dorothea Lange1937Anton Texas dustbowl downtown in 1937 by Dorothea Lan…Dust Bowl farmers of west Texas in town1937Dust Bowl farmers of west Texas in townThis year (1937) there are floods and heavy rain in the Dust Bowl. Auton, Texas1937This year (1937) there are floods and heavy rain in t…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
Water tower2014Water towerAnton Texas Boothe Elevators and Rail 20102010Anton Texas Boothe Elevators and Rail 2010
On the map

Anton on the map, 1957 to 1985

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

Anton on the 1957 USGS mapAnton on the 1976 USGS mapAnton on the 1985 USGS map1957Anton 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 Anton.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Anton Texas dustbowl downtown in 1937 by Dorothea Lange
Retake this viewAnton Texas dustbowl downtown in 1937 by Dorothea Lange, 1937

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Anton’s page.

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Anton’s history

What year was Anton founded?

In 1924, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Anton’s post office opened in 1925, and the census of 1940 counted 548 people here.

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 (4), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, 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.