Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #391 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Ponder was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2008. Below: maps from 1959 on and the census since 1970.
The Ponder post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ponder is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #391 of 642 in Texas. 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 Ponder’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 Ponder’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Ponder.
Local legend holds that Bonnie and Clyde either robbed the Ponder State Bank or attempted to rob it, only to discover it had gone broke the week before. However, this is not listed in the Barrow Gang's activities. The robbery in question may have been committed by the less famous but more successful Eddie Bentz.
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.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ponder. 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 Ponder.
Grew from 208 people in 1970 to 2,442 in 2020, more than tenfold.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ponder’s Wikipedia page.
The Ponder post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Ponder is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #391 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.
0.5% of Ponder’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2008.
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 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) 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.
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