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CHistory
History · Kerens

Kerens dates to 1881

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Kerens was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971.

1881founded
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Kerens began

When was Kerens founded?

1881

Kerens dates its founding to 1881 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1882.

2020 census: 1,505145 years

How historic is Kerens?

C

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Kerens’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kerens is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kerens’ overall grade.
Founding era1881, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.1% of homes (±4.5) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical TX town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 28%
NewerOlder

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 Kerens’ 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 still be C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.5 points). 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 Kerens’ 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 Kerens are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kerens’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Kerens came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kerens.

Read it all →

Kerens was established in 1881 when the St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas was built through the county, according to the Texas Handbook of History, and was named for Judge Richard C. Kerens of St. Louis. The railroad bypassed the nearby settlement of Wadeville, and within a short time all of the businesses from Wadeville moved to the new town. By the mid-1890s, the handbook said, the town had three cotton gin-mills, four grocery stores, two hotels, two drug stores, a wagonmaker, and a weekly newspaper named the Navarro Blade.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Kerens, 1881 to 1901

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881
    FoundingKerens is established
  3. 1882Post officeThe Kerens post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901Born hereBlair Cherry is born here
By decade

Kerens, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Downtown Kerens Wiki (1 of 1)2016Downtown Kerens Wiki (1 of 1)TXMap-doton-Kerens2004TXMap-doton-Kerens
Places that used to be

Old corners

Kerens’s post office has been open since 1882.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Goodlow Park

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

GoodlowIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Kerens’ history

What year was Kerens founded?

In 1881, according to Wikidata. Kerens’ post office opened in 1882.

How does Kerens rank for history?

Kerens is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns. 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 Kerens?

8% of Kerens’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1971.

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 (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.