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Cal Farley's Boys Ranch, Oldham County, TexasPhoto: Nicolas Henderson from Coppell, Texas · CC BY 2.0
–Not graded
History · Boys Ranch

Boys Ranch’s post office opened in 1952

Most of Boys Ranch was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1956. Below: maps from 1971 on.

1952first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Photo: Nicolas Henderson from Coppell, Texas · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Boys Ranch began

When was Boys Ranch founded?

1952

The Boys Ranch post office opened in 1952, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 17374 years
Founding year: the first Boys Ranch post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Boys Ranch’s past

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

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Boys Ranch’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
The story

How Boys Ranch came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Boys Ranch.

Read it all →

The Boys Ranch was founded in 1939 by Cal Farley (December 25, 1895 – February 19, 1967) for troubled youth and is now a census-designated place. This was a new CDP for the 2010 census with a population of 282.

Farley was a native of Sexton, Iowa, the son of Frank and Jennie Farley, who later moved to a farm outside of Elmore, Minnesota. He made his way to Amarillo in 1923. He was noted for his role in the professional wrestling business, particularly working with Dory Funk and the Luxembourg born Dutch Mantel.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Boys Ranch on the map, 1971 to 1985

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

Boys Ranch on the 1971 USGS mapBoys Ranch on the 1985 USGS map1971Boys Ranch West sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Boys Ranch.

Famous people

Famous people close to Boys Ranch

Nobody well known was born in Boys Ranch itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Old Tascosa
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Boys Ranch
Boot HillCal Farley's Boys Ranch

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Boys Ranch’s history

What year was Boys Ranch founded?

The Boys Ranch post office opened in 1952, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.