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BHistory
History · Pampa

Pampa dates to 1888, and 7 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #108 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Pampa was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1961. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1963 on, and the census since 1920.

1888founded
7on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
18famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pampa’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pampa began

When was Pampa founded?

1888

Pampa dates its founding to 1888 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 987 in 19202020 census: 16,867138 years

How historic is Pampa?

B

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1892.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Pampa’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pampa is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #108 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pampa’s overall grade.
Founding era1888, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.4% of homes (±2.0) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register7 listings, 8 historic buildings, 4.8 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 56%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 83%

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 Pampa’s 4.8 sits above most of its state (81% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% 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 (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1888.

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 Pampa’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 24,664 in 1960; 16,867 people lived here in 2020.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.Famous sons and daughtersZach Thomas, Kenneth Minihan and 16 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pampa’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pampa’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPampaaaf-postcard: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Pampa, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 24,664

Peaked at 24,664 in 1960; 16,867 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

On the National Register

7 historic places in Pampa

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
8
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Schneider Hotel
Schneider HotelUS Post Office-Pampa MainGray County Courthouse, built 1928Central Fire StationCombs-Worley Building, built 1931Pampa City HallWhite Deer Land Company Building
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Beaux Arts3
Spanish Colonial Revival1
Spanish Renaissance Revival1
Art Deco1
2-Part Commercial Block1
Schneider HotelSpanish Colonial Revival
US Post Office-Pampa MainSpanish Renaissance Revival
Gray County CourthouseBeaux Arts · Built 1928
Central Fire StationBeaux Arts
Combs-Worley BuildingArt Deco · Built 1931
Pampa City HallBeaux Arts
White Deer Land Company Building2-Part Commercial Block

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Pampa came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pampa.

Read it all →

In 1888, the Santa Fe Railroad was constructed through the area where Pampa would be established. A rail station and telegraph office were built, and the townsite was laid out by George Tyng, manager of the White Deer Lands ranch. The town was first called "Glasgow", then "Sutton", and then the name was changed to "Pampa" after the pampas grasslands of South America at Mr. Tyng's suggestion. Timothy Dwight Hobart, a native of Vermont, sold plots of land for the town only to people who agreed to settle there and develop the land, and Pampa soon became a center for agriculture. Gas and oil were discovered in the Texas Panhandle in 1916. Pampa prospered greatly in the resulting oil boom, and the Gray County seat of government was moved in 1928 from Lefors to Pampa.

Chapters1995 tornado

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pampa, 1888 to 1996

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888
    FoundingPampa is established
  3. 1892Post officeThe Pampa post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1928BuiltGray County Courthouse is built
  6. 1931BuiltCombs-Worley Building is built
  7. 1934Born hereGene Cockrell is born here
  8. 1939Born hereLes Brownlee is born here
  9. 1943In the archivePampaaaf-postcard
  10. 1943Born hereKenneth Minihan is born here
  11. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 24,664
  12. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1973Born hereZach Thomas is born here
  14. 1996In the archivePampa-10feb1996
By decade

Pampa, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1940s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s1 item
Pampaaaf-postcard1943Pampaaaf-postcardPostcard
1950s–1980snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1990s1 item
Pampa-10feb19961996Pampa-10feb1996
Today8 recent
Webbs Ranch, Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative Training in Pampa, TX2012Webbs Ranch, Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative Traini…Webbs Ranch, Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative Training in Pampa, TX2012Webbs Ranch, Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative Traini…Webbs Ranch, Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative Training in Pampa, TX2012Webbs Ranch, Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative Traini…Webbs Ranch, Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative Training in Pampa, TX2012Webbs Ranch, Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative Traini…Lesser Prairie Chicken Habitat, Webbs ranch, Pampa, TX2012Lesser Prairie Chicken Habitat, Webbs ranch, Pampa, TXLesser Prairie Chicken Habitat, Webbs ranch, Pampa, TX2012Lesser Prairie Chicken Habitat, Webbs ranch, Pampa, TXLesser Prairie Chicken Habitat, Webbs ranch, Pampa, TX2012Lesser Prairie Chicken Habitat, Webbs ranch, Pampa, TXPampa Army Airfield TX 2006 USGS2006Pampa Army Airfield TX 2006 USGS
On the map

Pampa on the map, 1963 to 1982

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

Pampa on the 1963 USGS mapPampa on the 1982 USGS map1963Pampa sheet · 1:24,000

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Pampaaaf-postcard
Retake this viewPampaaaf-postcard, 1943

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Pampa’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

18 famous people were born in Pampa

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

See all →
Zach ThomasAmerican football player · b. 1973
Kenneth MinihanUnited States general · b. 1943
Les BrownleeUnited States Army personnel · b. 1939
G
Gene CockrellAmerican football player and rodeo cowboy · b. 1934
Cody CanadaAmerican musician · b. 1976
G
Gerald J. FordAmerican banker · b. 1945
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Pampa’s post office has been open since 1892.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Mesilla Park
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pampa
FairviewMemory Gardens of Pampa

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

Questions about Pampa’s history

What year was Pampa founded?

In 1888, according to Wikidata. Pampa’s post office opened in 1892, and the census of 1920 counted 987 people here.

How does Pampa rank for history?

Pampa is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #108 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 Pampa?

7 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Schneider Hotel (listed 1985, the first). 8 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Pampa?

9% of Pampa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1961.

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 (10), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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.