Among the newest of U.S. towns · #618 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Cactus was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1970.
Founding year: the first Cactus post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Cactus’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cactus is among the newest of U.S. towns, #618 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 Cactus’ 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 Cactus’ 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 D. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. 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 Cactus’ 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 Cactus yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Cactus is a city in Moore County, Texas, United States, located along U.S. Route 287. The population was 3,057 at the 2020 census. "Cactus Texas", a song by Waylon Jennings, is a sketch of Cactus from years past.
Its first post office opened in 1948. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,179 to 3,057 (-4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
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.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
The Cactus post office opened in 1948, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Cactus rank for history?
Cactus is among the newest of U.S. towns, #618 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 Cactus?
0.0% of Cactus’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2000.
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 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.
