Spearman’s post office opened in 1917, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 27% of U.S. towns · #275 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Spearman was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Its Register listing is the Hansford County Courthouse. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1962 on, and the census since 1930.
Founding year: the first Spearman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Spearman’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Spearman is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #275 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 Spearman’s overall grade.
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 Spearman’s 3.6 sits above most of its state (79% 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 B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 points). 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 Spearman’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Spearman was platted in May 1917 in anticipation of construction of the North Texas and Santa Fe Railway. A post office opened in 1917, and by that time, E. C. Hays had a store near the site. The city was named for Thomas E. Spearman, a vice president of the North Texas and Santa Fe Railway.
World War I delayed completion of the railroad from Shattuck, Oklahoma, until October 1919, but Spearman was already thriving; several churches and businesses had moved in from Hansford. Spearman remained the terminus of the railroad until 1931, when the line was extended to Morse and points south. The town was incorporated in 1921 and had 30 businesses, a brick school building, and a population of 1,000 by 1926.
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Questions about Spearman’s history
What year was Spearman founded?
The Spearman post office opened in 1917, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Spearman rank for history?
Spearman is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #275 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 Spearman?
One place: the Hansford County Courthouse (listed 2019).
How old are the homes in Spearman?
5% of Spearman’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1971.
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), 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.
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