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C−History
History · Katy

Katy dates to 1945, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #348 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Katy was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Its Register listings are the Dr. James M. and Dove Stewart House and the B. Ray and Charlotte Woods House. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1915 on, and the census since 1950.

1945founded
2on the National Register
0.6%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
13famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Katy’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Katy began

When was Katy founded?

1945

Katy dates its founding to 1945 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1950.

First census: 849 in 19502020 census: 21,89481 years

How historic is Katy?

C−

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Katy’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Katy is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #348 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Katy’s overall grade.
Founding era1945, from Wikidata: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.6% of homes (±0.6) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 1.2 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 18%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 46%

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 Katy’s 1.2 sits above most of its state (73% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1945.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size.

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 Katy’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages9 hamlets and corners are still on the map.On the map since 19154 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1980. Watch Katy change.Famous sons and daughtersRenée Zellweger, Andy Dalton and 11 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Katy’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFirst Bridge Over Cane Island Creek cir…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Falcon PointFawn LakeHeritage MeadowsKaty EstatesKatylandPhillipePine ForestPineview TerraceWhispering Lakes
Gone or out of use
Horn-Katy Hawk International Airportairport
1cemetery inside Katy
Magnolia

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Katy on the map, 1915 to 1980

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

Katy on the 1915 USGS mapKaty on the 1955 USGS mapKaty on the 1971 USGS mapKaty on the 1980 USGS map1915Katy sheet · 1:24,000

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

The story

How Katy came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Katy.

Read it all →

The City of Katy sits on Karankawa tribal lands. European colonists' first record of contact with a tribe is in 1528. Over the next 250 years the area was trafficked by French and Spanish European colonists seeking land and trade opportunities. By 1779, the Karakawa were at war with Spanish settlers. In 1790 the war ended and shortly after settlement begins.

In the early 1800s Katy came be to be known as "Cane Island", named for the creek that runs through the area, a branch of Buffalo Bayou. The creek was filled with tall cane, not native to the area. It was presumed to have been planted by either the Karankawa Indians or Spanish explorers to aid in fur trapping until the 1820s.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Katy, 1895 to 1999

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1895In the archiveFirst Bridge Over Cane Island Creek circa 1895
  3. 20th century
  4. 1911In the archive1911 Katy Residents at Cane Island Creek Bridge
  5. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1945
    FoundingKaty is established
  7. 1969Born hereRenée Zellweger is born here
  8. 1987Born hereAndy Dalton is born here
  9. 1994Born hereElijah Hall is born here
  10. 1999Born hereChristian Cappis is born here
By decade

Katy, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1910s2 items
First Bridge Over Cane Island Creek circa 1895c. 1895First Bridge Over Cane Island Creek circa 18951911 Katy Residents at Cane Island Creek Bridge19111911 Katy Residents at Cane Island Creek Bridge
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
YMCA Stage. Oct, 20082008YMCA Stage. Oct, 2008Wood-framed house2008Wood-framed houseGrand Mission Blvd. Oct. 20082008Grand Mission Blvd. Oct. 2008SanJacinto Watershed2006SanJacinto Watershed
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

First Bridge Over Cane Island Creek circa 1895
Retake this viewFirst Bridge Over Cane Island Creek circa 1895, c. 1895

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Katy’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Katy

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
Dr. James M. and Dove Stewart House
Dr. James M. and Dove Stewart HouseB. Ray and Charlotte Woods House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Ranch Style1
Dr. James M. and Dove Stewart HouseQueen Anne
B. Ray and Charlotte Woods HouseRanch Style

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Katy, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000196019802000202021,894

Grew from 849 people in 1950 to 21,894 in 2020, more than tenfold.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Famous people

13 famous people were born in Katy

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Renée ZellwegerAmerican actress · b. 1969
Andy DaltonAmerican football player · b. 1987
Elijah HallAmerican male sprinter · b. 1994
C
Christian CappisAmerican soccer player · b. 1999
Sanaz MarandAmerican tennis player · b. 1988
K
Kimberlyn DuncanAmerican sprinter · b. 1991
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Houston292 historic placesA−

Questions about Katy’s history

What year was Katy founded?

In 1945, according to Wikidata. the census of 1950 counted 849 people here.

How does Katy rank for history?

Katy is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #348 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.

What is on the National Register in Katy?

Two places: the Dr. James M. and Dove Stewart House (listed 1996) and the B. Ray and Charlotte Woods House (2004).

How old are the homes in Katy?

0.6% of Katy’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2003.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.