The story
Read it all →How Stanton came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Stanton.
In 1887, New York native John Scharbauer established a cattle ranch near what later became known as Stanton.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
CHistory
History · Stanton
Stanton’s post office opened in 1911, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #284 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Stanton was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1967. Its Register listing is the Carmelite Monastery. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1966 on, and the census since 1930.
1911first post office
1on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Quick answers
How Stanton began
When was Stanton founded?
1911
The Stanton post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Marienfeld (1882), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,384 in 19302020 census: 2,657115 years
How historic is Stanton?
C
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Stanton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Stanton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stanton is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #284 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 Stanton’s overall grade.
Founding era1911, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19404.3% of homes (±5.0) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 3.8 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 26%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 56%
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 Stanton’s 3.8 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 C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 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 Stanton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Stanton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stanton’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Stanton, 1882 to 1966
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1882Post officeThe Marienfeld post office opens
- 1890Post officeThe Marienfeld post office closes
- 20th century
- 1911Post officeThe Stanton post office opens
- 1926Born hereMillard Hall is born here
- 1937
In the archiveWest Texas farmer replanting cotton. Had three inches of rain which washed out the first … - 1962
Born hereCraig Eiland is born here - 1966
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Stanton, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1930s2 items
19371940s–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
2014
2014
2009
2009On the map
Stanton on the map, 1966 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Stanton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1966Stanton sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Stanton.
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.
Retake this viewWest Texas farmer replanting cotton. Had three inches of rain which washed out the first crop. Near Stanton, Texas, 1937
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Stanton’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
1 historic place in Stanton
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Carmelite Monastery
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Gothic1
All 1 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Stanton, census by census
Between 1,245 and 2,657 people in every census since 1930.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Stanton’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →2 famous people were born in Stanton
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and burying grounds
Stanton’s post office has been open since 1911. Another post office, Marienfeld, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Marienfeld
Stanton
18801950today
1cemetery inside Stanton
Saint Joseph
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Stanton’s history
What year was Stanton founded?
The Stanton post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Stanton rank for history?
Stanton is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #284 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 Stanton?
One place: the Carmelite Monastery (listed 1999).
How old are the homes in Stanton?
4% of Stanton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1967.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (2), 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.