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C−History
History · McGregor

McGregor’s post office opened in 1882

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #293 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of McGregor was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1890.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How McGregor began

When was McGregor founded?

1882

The McGregor post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 774 in 18902020 census: 5,321144 years

How historic is McGregor?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first McGregor post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives McGregor’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, McGregor is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #293 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of McGregor’s overall grade.
Founding era1882, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.9% of homes (±3.5) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational 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 24%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 54%

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 McGregor’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 C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 →

What stands out about McGregor’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 McGregor are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1922, drew every building in McGregor.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start McGregor’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how McGregor’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
Every building

McGregor, building by building, 1894–1922

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

McGregor fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story so far

McGregor, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of McGregor yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

McGregor is a city in McLennan and Coryell counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 5,321 at the 2020 Census. McGregor lies in two counties, as well as two metropolitan areas. The McLennan County portion of the city is part of the Waco metropolitan area, while the small portion that lies in Coryell County is part of the Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood metropolitan area.

Its first post office opened in 1882. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,987 to 5,321 (+7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

McGregor, 1882 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe McGregor post office opens
  3. 1889Born herePug Cavet is born here
  4. 1898Born hereSarge Connally is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1907Born hereJohn R. Kane is born here
  7. 1931On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1984Born hereJeff Lebby is born here
By decade

McGregor, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Creative display of the local high school's football team schedule on a building in little McGregor in McLennan County,…2014Creative display of the local high school's football …The long-closed (as of 2014) Texas Theatre2014The long-closed (as of 2014) Texas TheatreThe obligatory Dairy Queen stop at the SpaceX McGregor Texas test facility with Elon Musk and my partner Randy Glein to…2014The obligatory Dairy Queen stop at the SpaceX McGrego…The long-closed (as of 2014) Texas Theatre in2014The long-closed (as of 2014) Texas Theatre inBreakfast with Elon2012Breakfast with Elon2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBook
On the map

McGregor on the map, 1931 to 1993

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

McGregor on the 1931 USGS mapMcGregor on the 1965 USGS mapMcGregor on the 1993 USGS map1931Mc Gregor sheet · 1:62,500

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

People over time

McGregor, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50019001920194019601980200020205,321

Grew from 774 people in 1890 to 5,321 in 2020, 6 times over.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in McGregor

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

See all →
John R. KaneUnited States Air Force Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1907
Pug CavetAmerican baseball player · b. 1889
Sarge ConnallyMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1898
Jeff LebbyAmerican football coach · b. 1984
R
Robert S. CalvertAmerican politician · b. 1891
R
Russ BlailockPlayer of American Football · b. 1902
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Waco23 historic placesB

Questions about McGregor’s history

What year was McGregor founded?

The McGregor post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does McGregor rank for history?

McGregor is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #293 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 McGregor?

6% of McGregor’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1979.

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 (4), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.