Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 39% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1920 on, and the census since 1910.
The Canadian post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Canadian is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Canadian’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Canadian’s history is told.
Peaked at 3,491 in 1980; 2,339 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Canadian’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Canadian.
A portion of the Tom Hanks movie Cast Away was filmed in Canadian.
In February 2024, most of the town was in the path of the 1,058,482 acre (428,352 ha) Smokehouse Creek Fire, which charred some of the town. No fatalities were reported within Canadian.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Texas - Hemphill County - ED 106-1, ED 106-2, ED …
In the archiveFred Harvey Lunchroom Santa Fe Hotel Canadian Texas 1913
Born hereDave McCurdy is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
2022U.S. Post Office in
2020Hemphill County courthouse May 2020
2016U.S. Route 60
2016U.S. Route 60
2016Untitled photo
2010Tom Abraham grave marker, Canadian, TX IMG 6101
2010Straßenszene in
2010Straßenszene in
2010Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Canadian, TX IMG 6102
2010Palace Theater, Canadian, TX IMG 6066
2010Monument to the unborn, Canadian, TX IMG 6103
2010Malouf Abraham, Sr., grave marker, Canadian, TX IMG 6…
2010Library in Canadian, TX IMG 6075
2010Hemphill County, TX Courthouse IMG 6072
2010Happy State Bank, Canadian, TX IMG 6065
2010Glimpse of downtown Canadian, TX IMG 6073
2010First United Methodist Church, Canadian, TX IMG 6078
2010First Presbyterian Church, Canadian, TX IMG 6082
2010First Baptist Church, Canadian, TX IMG 6106
2010Crew Chiefs 'Paint Pictures' for Pilots DVIDS280454
2010Crew Chiefs 'Paint Pictures' for Pilots DVIDS280451
2010Crew Chiefs 'Paint Pictures' for Pilots DVIDS280450
2010City Hall, Canadian, TX IMG 6061
2010Citadel Garden, Canadian, TX IMG 6112
2010Canadian River in Canadian TX IMG 6056
2010Canadian Record in Canadian, TX IMG 6070
2010Abraham family marker in Canadian, TX IMG 6100
2010Abraham Companies, Canadian, TX IMG 6110
2010"The truth is mighty and it shall prevail", Canadian,…
2004TXMap-doton-CanadianEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Canadian. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Canadian.
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 sheet.
1920Sheet 1 of 5Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Canadian’s page.
Retake this view · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Canadian post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Canadian is more historic than 39% 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.
17% of Canadian’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1973.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (33), 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.
1880