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A−History
History · Quanah

Quanah dates to 1884, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 68 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1890.

1884founded
2on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Quanah’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Quanah began

When was Quanah founded?

1884

Quanah dates its founding to 1884 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 1,477 in 18902020 census: 2,279142 years

How historic is Quanah?

A−

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1886.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Quanah’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Quanah is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Quanah’s overall grade.
Founding era1884, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194027.9% of homes (±5.9) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 69 historic buildings, 327 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 83%
NewerOlder

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 Quanah’s 327 sits above most of its state (99% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 69 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 points). Two sources give 1884.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Quanah’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.A historic districtThe Quanah Commercial Historic District takes in 68 historic buildings.Boom and bustPeaked at 4,589 in 1950; 2,279 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Quanah’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Quanah’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewQuanah, Texas in 1890 - drawing: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

2 listings protect 69 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
69
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Quanah, Acme and Pacific Depot
Quanah, Acme and Pacific DepotQuanah Commercial Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Spanish Colonial Revival1
Romanesque1
Beaux Arts1
Neo-Classical Revival1
Mission/Spanish Colonial1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Quanah, Acme and Pacific DepotSpanish Colonial Revival
All 2 listings
Quanah Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2000

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

People over time

Quanah, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,589

Peaked at 4,589 in 1950; 2,279 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Quanah came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Quanah.

Read it all →

Quanah was organized in 1884 as a stop on what was then the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway. The city was named for Quanah Parker, the last principal chief of the Comanche Nation.

The county seat of Hardeman County was moved from Margaret to Quanah in 1890 after an acrimonious battle that contributed to the splitting off of the southern section of Hardeman County as Foard County.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Quanah, 1884 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884
    FoundingQuanah is established
  3. 1886Post officeThe Quanah post office opens
  4. 1890In the archiveOld map-Quanah-1890
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900Born hereFred Chase Koch is born here
  7. 1919Born hereBill Evans is born here
  8. 1930Born hereEdward Givens is born here
  9. 1935Born hereJohn Gilliland is born here
  10. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 4,589
  11. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Quanah, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s2 items
Old map-Quanah-18901890Old map-Quanah-1890MapQuanah, Texas in 1890 - drawing1890Quanah, Texas in 1890 - drawing
1900s–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
Today10 recent
Quanah, Acme and Pacific Depot2015Quanah, Acme and Pacific DepotQuanah Texas Post Office2015Quanah Texas Post OfficeQuanah Texas Post Office Cornerstone2015Quanah Texas Post Office CornerstoneQuanah Texas City Hall2015Quanah Texas City HallFormer Hardeman County Texas Jail2015Former Hardeman County Texas JailFirst Presbyterian Church of2015First Presbyterian Church ofQuanah TX Courthouse2014Quanah TX CourthouseQuanah Parker Inn, Quanah, TX Picture 21892009Quanah Parker Inn, Quanah, TX Picture 2189Downtown Quanah, TX Picture 21942009Downtown Quanah, TX Picture 2194TXMap-doton-Quanah2004TXMap-doton-Quanah
On the map

Quanah on the map, 1960 to 1984

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

Quanah on the 1960 USGS mapQuanah on the 1984 USGS map1960Quanah sheet · 1:62,500

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

Every building

Quanah, building by building, 1892–1898

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 year, then a sheet.

Quanah fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

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.

Quanah, Texas in 1890 - drawing
Retake this viewQuanah, Texas in 1890 - drawing, 1890

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

6 famous people were born in Quanah

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

See all →
Edward GivensAmerican astronaut · b. 1930
F
Fred Chase KochAmerican chemical engineer and entrepreneur · b. 1900
J
John GillilandAmerican radio broadcaster and documentarian · b. 1935
B
Bill Evans1940s baseball pitcher · b. 1919
Welborn GriffithAmerican soldier · b. 1901
C
Clay ReynoldsTexas novelist and literary critic · b. 1949

Questions about Quanah’s history

What year was Quanah founded?

In 1884, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Quanah’s post office opened in 1886, and the census of 1890 counted 1,477 people here.

How does Quanah rank for history?

Quanah is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns. 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 Quanah?

Two places: the Quanah, Acme and Pacific Depot (listed 1979) and the Quanah Commercial Historic District (2000).

How old are the homes in Quanah?

28% of Quanah’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1960.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.