Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 3% of U.S. towns · #591 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Kirby was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1960.
The Kirby post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1955.
More historic than 3% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kirby is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #591 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Kirby’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kirby’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Kirby.
Kirby was founded as an agricultural community by German immigrants in the early 1900s. Its name derived from the Kirby yard of the Southern Pacific Railroad that crossed through the town. In 1920, the population was around 18 people, made up of mostly farmers. At this time, German was a commonly spoken language.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kirby. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kirby.
Between 680 and 8,673 people in every census since 1960.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kirby’s Wikipedia page.
Kirby had its own post office from 1907 to 1916.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Kirby post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1955.
Kirby is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #591 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.
0.0% of Kirby’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1978.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (1), 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.
2004
