Most of Hawley was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 1980.
On evening of May 2, 2024, a strong EF3 tornado struck southwest of Hawley. One of the storm chasers following it, Freddy McKinney, happened to witness the tornado destroy the home of the Lambert family: Husband and father Wes, wife and mother Kasey, 7-year old son Lane, 4-year old daughter Allie, and their two dogs Millie and Scout. When he investigated the aftermath, the Lamberts had somehow miraculously survived their home's destruction after taking a direct hit from the tornado, but were seriously injured. Freddy took it upon himself to drive them all the way to Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene to get medical attention, and support a GoFundMe fundraiser to help them rebuild their lives after the tornado.
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 (2), 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.
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