Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Perryton

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
C−History
History · Perryton

Perryton’s post office opened in 1919, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #316 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Perryton was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Its Register listing is the Plainview Hardware Company Building. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1973 on, and the census since 1930.

1919first post office
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Perryton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Perryton began, and where its name came from

When was Perryton founded?

1919

The Perryton post office opened in 1919, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,824 in 19302020 census: 8,492107 years

How did Perryton get its name?

Perryton was named after George M. Perry, an early county judge.

How historic is Perryton?

C−

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Perryton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Perryton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Perryton is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #316 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Perryton’s overall grade.
Founding era1919, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19402.4% of homes (±1.7) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 1.2 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 22%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 51%

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 Perryton’s 1.2 sits above most of its state (73% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±1.7 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 Perryton’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.Famous sons and daughtersMike Hargrove, Lou Richards and 7 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Perryton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Perryton’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 viewPerryton TX July 22 1921: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people

9 famous people were born in Perryton

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

See all →
Mike HargroveAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1949
L
Lou RichardsAmerican actor · b. 1951
Caleb CampbellAmerican football player · b. 1984
Keith FlowersAmerican football player · b. 1930
Ryan CulwellAmerican musician · b. 1980
C
Clyde FlowersAmerican football player · b. 1921
The story

How Perryton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Perryton.

Read it all →

A rail line was created between mid-1916 and mid-1920 from Shattuck, Oklahoma to Spearman, Texas, as built by the North Texas and Santa Fe Railway and operated by the Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway. When neither of the communities of Ochiltree or Gray got the railroad, the citizens decided to move both towns to the railroad and merge into a new community named Perryton. It was named after George M. Perry, an early county judge.

Chapters2023 tornado

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Perryton, 1919 to 1984

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1919Post officeThe Perryton post office opens
  3. 1921In the archivePerryton TX July 22 1921
  4. 1930BuiltPlainview Hardware Company Building is built
  5. 1930Born hereKeith Flowers is born here
  6. 1938In the archiveOld time professional migratory laborer camping on the outskirts of Perryton, Texas at op…
  7. 1949Born hereMike Hargrove is born here
  8. 1951Born hereLou Richards is born here
  9. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1984Born hereCaleb Campbell is born here
By decade

Perryton, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s–1930s2 items
Perryton TX July 22 19211921Perryton TX July 22 1921Old time professional migratory laborer camping on the outskirts of Perryton, Texas at opening of wheat harvest. With h…1938Old time professional migratory laborer camping on th…
1940s–1990snothing 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
Today3 recent
Abandoned Hotel Perryton in Perryton, TX IMG 60232010Abandoned Hotel Perryton in Perryton, TX IMG 6023"Justice to All Mankind", Perryton, TX IMG 60272010"Justice to All Mankind", Perryton, TX IMG 60272010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBook
On the map

Perryton on the map, 1973 to 1986

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

Perryton on the 1973 USGS mapPerryton on the 1986 USGS map1973Perryton 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 Perryton.

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.

Perryton TX July 22 1921
Retake this viewPerryton TX July 22 1921, 1921

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Perryton

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Plainview Hardware Company Building
Plainview Hardware Company Building, built 1930
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Art Deco1
All 1 listings
Plainview Hardware Company BuildingBuilding · listed 1990

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

People over time

Perryton, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00019401960198020002020Peak: 8,802

Between 2,325 and 8,802 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Questions about Perryton’s history

What year was Perryton founded?

The Perryton post office opened in 1919, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Perryton rank for history?

Perryton is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #316 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 Perryton?

One place: the Plainview Hardware Company Building (listed 1990).

How old are the homes in Perryton?

2% of Perryton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1974.

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 (4), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.