More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #425 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Nolanville was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2007. Below: maps from 1930 on and the census since 1970.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Nolanville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Nolanville is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #425 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Nolanville’s overall grade.
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 Nolanville’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 D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1878.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Nolanville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Nolanville reached its peak as a town between 1890 and 1900, when it went into a holding pattern. A weekly newspaper, the Item, was started by 1896. The first telephone service in Nolanville was started, using barbed wire for lines. Two lines were used, a south and a north, with Nolan Creek serving as the dividing line. Nolanville School, one of the larger rural schools in the county in the early 20th century, had 90 pupils in 1903. The first automobile appeared between 1900 and 1910. The automobile caused Nolanville businesses to decline because it made the trip to Belton or Killeen so much easier.
In 1878, according to Wikidata. Nolanville’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1970 counted 902 people here.
How does Nolanville rank for history?
Nolanville is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #425 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 Nolanville?
0.0% of Nolanville’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 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.
