Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Gruver was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: maps from 1973 on and the census since 1940.
The Gruver post office opened in 1927, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gruver is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age 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 Gruver’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.
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 →
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 Gruver’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Gruver.
Gruver was named for Joseph Hezkiah Gruver and his son, Lawrence, who around 1907 established a ranch nine miles west of what is now the townsite. The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad reached the town in 1929. Gruver was incorporated in 1930.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gruver. 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 Gruver.
Between 350 and 1,265 people in every census since 1940.
9 censuses, 1940–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Gruver’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Gruver itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Gruver post office opened in 1927, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Gruver is more historic than 18% 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.
9% of Gruver’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
