Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of New Waverly was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1960 on and the census since 1880.
The New Waverly post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Waverly is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns. Its age holds 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 New Waverly’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 New Waverly’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of New Waverly.
Residents of Danville mostly relocated to the new railroad town of Willis, Texas around 1870 and the town declined further when the old Houston road (U.S. Highway 75) was rerouted through New Waverly.
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.
Born hereMinnie Fisher Cunningham is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWeddings 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 New Waverly. 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 New Waverly.
Between 70 and 1,032 people in every census since 1880.
8 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on New Waverly’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The New Waverly post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
New Waverly is more historic than 22% 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.
4% of New Waverly’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 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) 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.
