More historic than 10% of U.S. towns · #470 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Big Lake was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1920 on and the census since 1930.
Founding year: the first Big Lake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Big Lake’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Big Lake is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #470 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Big Lake’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 Big Lake’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 (±3.6 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 Big Lake’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1919, Rupert Ricker began the process of leasing 674 sections of University of Texas land, part of their Permanent University Fund. Unable to fund any test wells, Ricker sold the prospect to Frank Pickrell and Haymon Krupp, who organized the Texon Oil and Land Company. The company geologist, Hugh H. Tucker, picked the drill site, claiming a structure 9 miles (14 km) wide and 30 miles (48 km) long. The initial drill site was about 14 miles (23 km) west of Big Lake, north of the Orient Railroad tracks at what became Texon. They hired Carl G. Cromwell to spud the first test well in 1921, using cable tools. On the afternoon of 27 May, oil showed in the bailer. Then, on the morning of 28 May 1923, the Santa Rita No. 1 gushed oil after drilling to a depth of 3,028 feet (923 m). Initial production was 100 BOPD, which overflowed the earthen tanks, and then onto the ground for over a mont…
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Big Lake. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1920Big Lake 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 Big Lake.
People over time
Big Lake, census by census
Between 763 and 3,672 people in every census since 1930.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Big Lake’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Big Lake’s history
What year was Big Lake founded?
The Big Lake post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Big Lake rank for history?
Big Lake is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #470 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 Big Lake?
3% of Big Lake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (3), 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.
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