McKinney’s post office opened in 1848, and 57 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns · #61 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of McKinney was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2007. 57 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 224 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1850.
The McKinney post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Buckner (1846) and Foot (1901), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 315 in 18502020 census: 195,308178 years
How historic is McKinney?
B+
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first McKinney post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives McKinney’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, McKinney is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #61 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of McKinney’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, McKinney ranks #177 on History.
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 McKinney’s 14.1 sits above most of its state (89% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 297 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at McKinney’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. 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 McKinney’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1848, McKinney was named the county seat of Collin County due to the original county seat of Buckner not being within three miles of the county's geographic center. On March 24, 1849, William Davis, who owned 3,000 acres (12 km2) where McKinney now stands, donated 120 acres (0.49 km2) for the townsite. That same year, McKinney would be incorporated and in 1859 McKinney was incorporated again. In 1913, the McKinney adopted the commission form of government.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of McKinney. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1929McKinney 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 McKinney.
Every building
McKinney, building by building, 1885–1920
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.
The McKinney post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does McKinney rank for history?
McKinney is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #61 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 McKinney?
57 listings: 53 buildings, 3 historic districts, the McKinney Cotton Mill Historic District, the McKinney Commercial Historic District and the McKinney Residential Historic District, with 224 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 297 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in McKinney?
2% of McKinney’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2007.
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), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (57), Wikipedia, 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.
1941
1941
