Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Gary City was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1970.
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 Gary City’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Gary City yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Gary City is a town in Panola County, Texas, United States. The population was 335 as of the 2020 census.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 311 to 335 (+8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gary City. 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 Gary City.
Between 202 and 335 people in every census since 1970.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Gary City’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Gary City itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), 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.
2004
