Cameron dates to 1846, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #29 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Milam County Courthouse and Jail, the Dr. Nathan and Lula Cass House and the R.F. and Minta Pool House. Its Register listings are the Milam County Courthouse and Jail, the Dr. Nathan and Lula Cass House and the R.F. and Minta Pool House. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1847.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cameron’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cameron is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #29 of 642 in Texas. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cameron’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 Cameron’s 7.4 sits above most of its state (84% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points). Two sources give 1846.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Cameron’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Cameron, 1846 to 1993
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Soon after Texas became a U.S. state, the Texas Legislature authorized a seven-member commission to find a permanent site for the Milam County seat. The commission purchased a 60-acre tract of Daniel Monroe's headright on the Little River in 1846 and named the new community Cameron after Ewen Cameron, a Scottish highlander prominent in the Texas Revolution and a member of the Mier Expedition during the war with Mexico. When the courthouse in Cameron was completed later that year, county records were transferred to Cameron from Nashville—a community situated along the Brazos River that had served as the Milam County seat during the period when Texas was an independent republic. The new town struggled due to its isolated location, with the nearest railroad being 50 miles away. In the late 1840s and early 1850s, several attempts were made to navigate the Little River to give Cameron easier…
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.
In 1846, according to Wikidata. Cameron’s post office opened in 1847, and the census of 1880 counted 441 people here.
How does Cameron rank for history?
Cameron is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #29 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.
What is on the National Register in Cameron?
Three places: the Milam County Courthouse and Jail (listed 1977), the Dr. Nathan and Lula Cass House (1991) and the R.F. and Minta Pool House (2014).
How old are the homes in Cameron?
12% of Cameron’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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