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History · Chillicothe

Chillicothe’s post office opened in 1883, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1910.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Chillicothe’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Chillicothe began

When was Chillicothe founded?

1883

The Chillicothe post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,207 in 19102020 census: 549143 years
Founding year: the first Chillicothe post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Chillicothe’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,610 in 1930; 549 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Chillicothe’s homes were built before 1945.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chillicothe’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Chillicothe, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,610

Peaked at 1,610 in 1930; 549 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Chillicothe’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Chillicothe came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chillicothe.

Read it all →

Chillicothe is on U.S. Route 287 (US 287), Farm to Market Road 91, Farm to Market Road 2006, and the Fort Worth and Denver and Santa Fe railroads in eastern Hardeman County. It was founded in the early 1880s and developed rapidly after the construction of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway in 1887. The community, named by A. E. Jones for his hometown in Missouri, grew up on Wanderer's Creek near the headquarters of W. H. Worsham's R2 Ranch in the 1870s. The post office was established in 1883 with Charles E. Jones as postmaster. A fire destroyed the town in 1890, and citizens rebuilt south of the rail line rather than north.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Chillicothe, 1850 to 1984

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Texas - Hardeman County - ED 99-5, ED 99-…
  3. 1883Post officeThe Chillicothe post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1911Born hereHerschel Ramsey is born here
  6. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 1,610
  7. 1934Born hereLew Williams is born here
  8. 1938In the archiveInfromal extemporaneous Remarks of the President in
  9. 1984On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Chillicothe, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Texas - Hardeman County - ED 99-5, ED 99-6, ED 99-7, ED 99-8, ED 99-9, …18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Texas…
1930s1 item
Infromal extemporaneous Remarks of the President in1938Infromal extemporaneous Remarks of the President in
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Chillicothe First Methodist Church2015Chillicothe First Methodist ChurchGrain elevator, Chilicothe, TX Picture 21962009Grain elevator, Chilicothe, TX Picture 2196TXMap-doton-Chillicothe2004TXMap-doton-Chillicothe
On the map

Chillicothe on the map in 1984

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chillicothe.

Chillicothe on the 1984 USGS map1984Chillicothe 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 Chillicothe.

Every building

Chillicothe, building by building, 1921

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.

Chillicothe fire insurance map, 1921, sheet 11921Sheet 1 of 12
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Texas - Hardeman County - ED 99-5, ED 99-6, ED 99-7, ED 99-8, ED 99-9, …
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Texas - Hardeman County - ED 99-5, ED 99-6, ED 99-7, ED 99-8, ED 99-9, …, 1850

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Chillicothe’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Chillicothe

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
H
Herschel RamseyAmerican football player · b. 1911
L
Lew WilliamsAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1934

Questions about Chillicothe’s history

What year was Chillicothe founded?

The Chillicothe post office opened in 1883, 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 →
Start a conversation
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 Wikimedia Commons (5), 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.