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B−History
History · Nocona

Nocona was first counted by the census in 1880, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #139 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1880.

1880first census
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Chetblong · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Nocona began

When was Nocona founded?

1880

Nocona first appears in the census in 1880.

First census: 381 in 18802020 census: 3,002146 years

How historic is Nocona?

B−

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Nocona’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Nocona is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #139 of 642 in Texas. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Nocona’s overall grade.
Founding era1880, from the first census: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194027.8% of homes (±8.5) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−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 49%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 78%

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 Nocona’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 B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.5 points).

Founding year: the first census (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 Nocona’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 Nocona are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19054 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1991. Watch Nocona change.Old housesHalf of Nocona’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Nocona’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Nocona’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
On the map

Nocona on the map, 1905 to 1991

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

Nocona on the 1905 USGS mapNocona on the 1968 USGS mapNocona on the 1982 USGS mapNocona on the 1991 USGS map1905Montague sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Nocona came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Nocona.

Read it all →

The city is named for Peta Nocona, the Comanche chief. The area was first known to white settlers as the last stop in Texas before crossing the Red River on the Chisolm Trail. It was founded in 1887 along a particular bend in the Gainesville, Henrietta and Western Railway line, which soon became part of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, connecting Gainesville and Henrietta, and later Wichita Falls.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Nocona, 1887 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Nocona post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1919Born hereJoe Gibson is born here
  6. 1920Born hereJack Crain is born here
  7. 1956Born hereBruce Threadgill is born here
By decade

Nocona, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Horton Classic Car Museum2017Horton Classic Car MuseumDangerous Location2017Dangerous LocationBuilding Materials2017Building MaterialsNocona welcome sign2008Nocona welcome signNocona Boot Co2007Nocona Boot CoTXMap-doton-Nocona2004TXMap-doton-Nocona
Every building

Nocona, building by building, 1914

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 sheet.

Nocona fire insurance map, 1914, sheet 21914Sheet 2 of 4
BrickWoodStone

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

People over time

Nocona, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,198

Between 381 and 3,198 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Nocona

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

See all →
J
Joe GibsonAmerican football player · b. 1919
B
Bruce ThreadgillAmerican football player · b. 1956
J
Jack CrainAmerican politician · b. 1920
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Nocona’s post office has been open since 1887.

Gone or out of use
Nocona Airportairport

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

Questions about Nocona’s history

What year was Nocona founded?

The Nocona post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Nocona rank for history?

Nocona is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #139 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 Nocona?

28% of Nocona’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.5 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1959.

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 (6), 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.