More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #367 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Crowley was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1960.
Founding year: the first Crowley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1951.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Crowley’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Crowley is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #367 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Crowley’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 Crowley’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 D to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1951.
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 Crowley’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Around 1848, pioneers began farming the area around Deer Creek. The settlement moved a mile or so west to the site of present-day downtown Crowley when the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway built pens and laid tracks there. The first station depot was built in 1885. The community was named for S. H. Crowley, who was the master of transportation for the railroad.
An election to approve the incorporation of Crowley was held on February 3, 1951. The town council voted to change the designation of Crowley from a town to a city on September 3, 1972.
The Crowley post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1951.
How does Crowley rank for history?
Crowley is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #367 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 Crowley?
0.9% of Crowley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2003.
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 (1), 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) 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.
2009
