Most of Copper Canyon was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Its Register listing is the Old Alton Bridge. Below: maps from 1960 on and the census since 1980.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Copper Canyon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Copper Canyon is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Copper Canyon’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 Copper Canyon’s 4.0 sits above most of its state (80% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1973.
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 Copper Canyon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first European settlement in the area that would become Copper Canyon took place in the 1840s. One of the more prominent settler families was that of Elisha and Mary Chinn, who came to Texas from their original home in North Carolina in 1852. They helped establish the first church in the area, a log-cabin chapel which eventually became known as the Chinn's Chapel Methodist Church. The church is still active on what is now known as Chinn Chapel Road.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Copper Canyon. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1960Lewisville 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 Copper Canyon.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Copper Canyon
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
In 1973, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1980 counted 465 people here.
How does Copper Canyon rank for history?
Copper Canyon is more historic than 14% 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.
What is on the National Register in Copper Canyon?
One place: the Old Alton Bridge (listed 1988).
How old are the homes in Copper Canyon?
0.0% of Copper Canyon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
