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History · Rowena

Rowena’s post office opened in 1901, and 49% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1921 on.

1901first post office
0on the National Register
49%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Rowena began

When was Rowena founded?

1901

The Rowena post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Bolf (1900), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 305125 years
Founding year: the first Rowena post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Rowena’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Rowena are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Rowena’s homes were built before 1940.On the map since 19213 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1984. Watch Rowena change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rowena’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Rowena, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rowena yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Rowena is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) in southwestern Runnels County, Texas, United States, designed by Paul J. Baron in 1898. As of the 2020 census, Rowena had a population of 305. The elevation is 1759 feet above sea level.

Its first post office opened in 1901.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

On the map

Rowena on the map, 1921 to 1984

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

Rowena on the 1921 USGS mapRowena on the 1957 USGS mapRowena on the 1984 USGS map1921Rowena sheet · 1:31,680

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

Timeline

Rowena, 1900 to 1921

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Bolf post office opens
  3. 1901Post officeThe Bolf post office closes
  4. 1901Post officeThe Rowena post office opens
  5. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Rowena

Nobody well known was born in Rowena itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
N
Nancy RicheyAmerican tennis player · b. 1942
F
Fred RoeAmerican polo player · b. 1889
R
Roxy GordonAmerican musician, writer and activist · b. 1945
G
Geoff ConnorAmerican politician · b. 1963
W
Wallace CliftAmerican psychologist · b. 1926
D
Dalton HoffmanFormer American football fullback · b. 1941
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Rowena’s post office has been open since 1901. Another post office, Bolf, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bolf
1900–1901
Rowena
1901–today
19001960today

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

Questions about Rowena’s history

What year was Rowena founded?

The Rowena post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.