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D−History
History · The Colony

The Colony dates to 1969

Among the newest of U.S. towns · #618 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of The Colony was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. Below: maps from 1929 on and the census since 1980.

1969founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How The Colony began

When was The Colony founded?

1969

The Colony dates its founding to 1969 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1980.

First census: 11,586 in 19802020 census: 44,53457 years

How historic is The Colony?

D−

Among the newest of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1859.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives The Colony’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, The Colony is among the newest of U.S. towns, #618 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of The Colony’s overall grade.
Founding era1969, from Wikidata: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.2) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%D−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical TX town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the newest
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 4%

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 The Colony’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (34% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1969.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 The Colony’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 The Colony are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s The Colony, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start The Colony’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how The Colony’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Stewart's Creek
1859–1867
Steward's Creek
1877–1886
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Camey
1cemetery inside The Colony
Bridges

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

The story

How The Colony came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of The Colony.

Read it all →

The Colony's name comes from the Peters Colony, whose headquarters was located within the modern boundaries of The Colony in the historical community of Stewartsville and the site of the Hedgcoxe War. The Colony is also the site of Bridges Settlement (established during the years of the Republic of Texas and the oldest community in Denton County), Stewarts Creek, Rector, Stoverville and Camey, also known as Camey Spur.

One of the oldest portions of The Colony is Bridges Cemetery, established in 1857 on land owned by the Bridges family. The cemetery gates are closed to the public except on certain dates.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

The Colony, 1859 to 1975

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1859Post officeThe Stewart's Creek post office opens
  3. 1867Post officeThe Stewart's Creek post office closes
  4. 1877Post officeThe Steward's Creek post office opens
  5. 1886Post officeThe Steward's Creek post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1929On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1969
    FoundingThe Colony is established
  9. 1975Born hereLamont Smith is born here
By decade

The Colony, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Grandscape2024GrandscapeRidgepointe Park2020Ridgepointe ParkMorris T. Griffin Middle School2016Morris T. Griffin Middle SchoolQuik Trip store2004Quik Trip store
On the map

The Colony on the map, 1929 to 1981

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

The Colony on the 1929 USGS mapThe Colony on the 1960 USGS mapThe Colony on the 1973 USGS mapThe Colony on the 1981 USGS map1929Frisco 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 The Colony.

People over time

The Colony, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00019802000202044,534

Grew from 11,586 people in 1980 to 44,534 in 2020, 3 times over.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

LewisvilleIts storyC−Little ElmIts storyCCarrolltonIts storyDFriscoIts storyD−HebronIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPlano3 historic placesC

Questions about The Colony’s history

What year was The Colony founded?

In 1969, according to Wikidata. The Colony’s post office opened in 1859, and the census of 1980 counted 11,586 people here.

How does The Colony rank for history?

The Colony is among the newest of U.S. towns, #618 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.

How old are the homes in The Colony?

0.0% of The Colony’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2001.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (4), 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.