Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #22 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Glen Rose was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 58 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1880.
Glen Rose dates its founding to 1849 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Glen Rose is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #22 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Glen Rose’s 212 sits above most of its state (98% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 60 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
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 →
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 Glen Rose’s history is told.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereDennis Hadley Currie is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyBuiltSomervell County Courthouse is built
Born hereSammy Hale is born here
Born hereBrooke Rollins is born hereFrom Wikipedia’s history of Glen Rose.
The area was first settled in 1849 by Charles Barnard, who opened a trading post near Comanche Peak. After the region became a federal Indian Reservation in 1855, Barnard moved his business to Fort Belknap. Circa 1859 when the reservation was abolished, he returned to the area and built the first store on what is now the site of Glen Rose.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Glen Rose. 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 Glen Rose.
Grew from 132 people in 1880 to 2,659 in 2020, more than tenfold.
12 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Glen Rose’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Glen Rose’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, Barnard's Mill, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1849, according to Wikidata. Glen Rose’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1880 counted 132 people here.
Glen Rose is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #22 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.
4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Somervell County Courthouse (listed 1979, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Glen Rose Downtown Historic District and the Oakdale Park, with 58 contributing buildings. 60 historic buildings in all.
9% of Glen Rose’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1986.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.
2015
2014
2013
2012
2004
