More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #305 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Crandall was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Crandall post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Crandall’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Crandall is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #305 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Crandall’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 Crandall’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 points). 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 Crandall’s 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 Crandall yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Crandall is a city in Kaufman County, Texas, United States. Its population was estimated at 7,730 in 2025. It began as a railway town, developing alongside the Texas Trunk Railroad in the early 1880s. Crandall is named after Cornelius F. Crandall, who had previously founded Crandall, Indiana.
Its first post office opened in 1881. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,858 to 3,860 (+35%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Crandall, 1881 to 1983
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Crandall. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1956Kaufman sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Crandall.
People over time
Crandall, census by census
Grew from 251 people in 1890 to 3,860 in 2020, more than tenfold.
9 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Crandall’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Crandall’s history
What year was Crandall founded?
The Crandall post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Crandall rank for history?
Crandall is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #305 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 Crandall?
5% of Crandall’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 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 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) 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.
