More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #345 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Joshua was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: maps from 1961 on and the census since 1960.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Joshua’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Joshua is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #345 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 Joshua’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 Joshua’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 D to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1881.
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 →
What stands out about Joshua’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Joshua is in the Cross Timbers region of Texas, on land patented by W. W. Byers in 1867. The section was sold in 1874 to John Powell. Caddo Grove, 2 miles (3 km) east of Joshua, was the first community in the area. It had its own post office and was a thriving town until the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway was completed from Cleburne to Fort Worth in 1881. The railroad missed Caddo Grove, and a station was built on the tracks at the site of future Joshua. The station was originally called "Caddo Peak", but the name was rejected by the post office because of another community with that name. The name "Joshua" was chosen, purportedly by Dr. D. B. McMillan, after the biblical Joshua. W. L. West was the first postmaster when the community received a post office in 1882. In 1883, Caddo Grove's post office was withdrawn.
In 1881, according to Wikidata. Joshua’s post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1960 counted 764 people here.
How does Joshua rank for history?
Joshua is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #345 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 Joshua?
2% of Joshua’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1997.
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.
