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History · Strawn

Strawn’s post office opened in 1880, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 5 buildings.

1880first post office
1on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Strawn began

When was Strawn founded?

1880

The Strawn post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 540146 years
Founding year: the first Strawn post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Strawn’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 Strawn are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Strawn’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Strawn’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Strawn, in brief

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

Strawn is a city in Palo Pinto County, Texas, United States. Its population was 540 at the 2020 census. Strawn, on State Highway 16 and 108, Farm to Market Road 2372, and the Missouri Pacific Railroad in southwestern Palo Pinto County, was one of several towns developed about 1880 when the Texas and Pacific Railway began service. The site, known earlier as North Fork for its location on Palo Pinto Creek, was laid out on the land of two early ranchers, Stephen Bethel Strawn and James N. Stuart. Stuart built the area's first house in 1875. A community to the west, Russell's Pocket, and one to the east, Davidsonville, were merged to form Strawn.

Its first post office opened in 1880. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 653 to 540 (-17%).

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

By decade

Strawn, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Strawn Texas City Hall2019Strawn Texas City HallStrawn House 2 (1 of 1)2018Strawn House 2 (1 of 1)Downtown Strawn Texas2 (1 of 1)2018Downtown Strawn Texas2 (1 of 1)Marys cafe2014Marys cafeStrawn, Texas2013Strawn, TexasTXMap-doton-Strawn2004TXMap-doton-Strawn
On the National Register

1 listing protects 5 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
2026
Zim's Bottling Works and Tourist Park
Zim's Bottling Works and Tourist Park
Districts
All 1 listings
Zim's Bottling Works and Tourist ParkDistrict · listed 2026

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

Questions about Strawn’s history

What year was Strawn founded?

The Strawn post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Strawn?

One place: the Zim's Bottling Works and Tourist Park (listed 2026).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.