The Howe post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Summit (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 284 in 18902020 census: 3,571150 years
How historic is Howe?
C−
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Howe post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Howe’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Howe is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #340 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 Howe’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 Howe’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 C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Howe’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first settlers in the area arrived around the time of the Texas Revolution in 1836. In 1843, the last Indian battle in Grayson County was said to have been fought in the area. The first settlers of Howe were Jabez and Harriet Haning, and Jabez's brother John. They received land through the Peters colony after arriving from Pennsylvania before 1850. When the Houston and Texas Central Railway extended through the area in 1873, a railroad switch was located in the community. It was called "Summit" because, at 810 feet (250 m) above sea level, it was believed to be the highest point between the Red River and the Gulf of Mexico. In 1873, when Summit received a post office, two businesses were located at the switch—a general store and a saloon. Several houses were built to the east of the switch. Jabez Haning persuaded the railroad to establish a depot on his land by donating every second…
The Howe post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Howe rank for history?
Howe is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #340 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 Howe?
2% of Howe’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (6), 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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