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History · Impact

Impact was first counted by the census in 1970, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1970.

1970first census
0on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Impact began

When was Impact founded?

1970

Impact first appears in the census in 1970.

First census: 61 in 19702020 census: 2256 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Impact’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Impact are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Impact’s homes were built before 1945.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Impact’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Impact’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Impact came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Impact.

Read it all →

The area that became known as Impact began as a 20-acre (8 ha) poultry farm owned by advertising businessman Dallas Perkins. Prior to 1960, liquor sales were prohibited in all cities and counties surrounding Abilene. The prohibition of legal liquor sales encouraged bootleggers to produce illegal liquor commonly called "moonshine".

Perkins capitalized on the potential market for legal liquor among the wets by purchasing 27 acres of land adjacent to his farm on the outskirts of Abilene and then pushing for its incorporation. Calling the village "Impact" after his advertising business, 29 signatures of local residents were collected and it was incorporated in 1960.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Impact, decade by decade

Today1 recent
TXMap-doton-Impact2004TXMap-doton-Impact
On the map

Impact on the map, 1954 to 1974

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Impact. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Impact on the 1954 USGS mapImpact on the 1974 USGS map1954Abilene sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Impact.

People over time

Impact, census by census

0198020002020Peak: 61

Between 22 and 61 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Impact’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Impact

Nobody well known was born in Impact itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jessica SimpsonAmerican singer and actress · b. 1980
Ryan GuzmanAmerican actor · b. 1987
Vinnie PaulAmerican drummer · b. 1964
Bill SharmanAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1926
David BoudiaAmerican diver · b. 1989
Jim HallAmerican racecar driver and constructor · b. 1935

Questions about Impact’s history

What year was Impact founded?

The Impact post office opened in 1970, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.