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History · Roxton

Roxton’s post office opened in 1869, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1890.

1869first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Roxton began

When was Roxton founded?

1869

The Roxton post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 226 in 18902020 census: 548157 years
Founding year: the first Roxton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Roxton’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 Roxton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 735 in 1980; 548 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Roxton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Roxton’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
People over time

Roxton, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 735

Peaked at 735 in 1980; 548 people lived here in 2020.

6 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story so far

Roxton, in brief

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

Roxton is a city in Lamar County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 650, a figure which declined to 548 as of 2020.

Its first post office opened in 1869. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 650 to 548 (-16%).

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

Timeline

Roxton, 1869 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869Post officeThe Roxton post office opens
  3. 1884Born hereBill Lattimore is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1914Born hereOberia Dempsey is born here
  6. 1916Born hereJack Hawkins is born here
  7. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 735
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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On the map

Roxton on the map, 1948 to 1984

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

Roxton on the 1948 USGS mapRoxton on the 1984 USGS map1948Paris 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 Roxton.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Roxton

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

See all →
Jack HawkinsU.S. Marine Corps officer and author · b. 1916
B
Bill LattimoreAmerican baseball player · b. 1884
O
Oberia DempseyAmerican minister · b. 1914

Questions about Roxton’s history

What year was Roxton founded?

The Roxton post office opened in 1869, 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 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.