Most of Archer City was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1965. Its Register listing is the Archer County Courthouse and Jail. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1931 on, and the census since 1910.
From Archer City’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Archer City began
When was Archer City founded?
1892
The Archer City post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Archer (1878), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 825 in 19102020 census: 1,601134 years
How historic is Archer City?
B−
More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Archer City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Archer City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Archer City is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Archer City’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 Archer City’s 16.2 sits above most of its state (89% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 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 Archer City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Archer City yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Archer City is a city in and the county seat of Archer County, Texas, United States. The city lies at the junction of State Highway 79 and State Highway 25. It is located 25 miles (40 km) south of Wichita Falls, and is part of the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area. Its population was 1,601 at the 2020 census. Archer City is notable as a filming location for the motion picture The Last Picture Show (1971) and its sequel Texasville (1990), both based upon novels written by Archer City native Larry McMurtry. The city is named for Branch Tanner Archer, a commissioner for the Republic of Texas.
Its first post office opened in 1892. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,834 to 1,601 (-13%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Archer City, 1878 to 1956
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Archer City’s post office has been open since 1892. Another post office, Archer, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Archer
1878–1892
Archer City
1892–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
North Archer City Oil Fieldoilfield
1cemetery inside Archer City
Archer City
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Archer City’s history
What year was Archer City founded?
The Archer City post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Archer City rank for history?
Archer City is more historic than 55% 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.
What is on the National Register in Archer City?
One place: the Archer County Courthouse and Jail (listed 1977).
How old are the homes in Archer City?
10% of Archer City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1965.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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