More historic than 5% of U.S. towns · #585 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Wake Village was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1950.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wake Village is more historic than 5% of U.S. towns, #585 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wake Village’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 Wake Village’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1944.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Wake Village’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wake Village was founded in 1944 for the war effort to provide housing for the plant workers at the Red River Army Depot and the Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant.
The name was taken from Wake Island, in the Pacific theater of the war. The population was over 1,000 in the early 1950s; in the early 1990s it had reached 4,400, and the 2000 census reported 5,129. The sections of Wake Village in which the original post-war homes exist are named WWII-related names, i.e. Manila, Guam, Singapore, Arizona, Burma Victory, etc. The 1950s mid-century modern home enclaves feature names such as Esther and Marianna.
In 1944, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1950 counted 1,066 people here.
How does Wake Village rank for history?
Wake Village is more historic than 5% of U.S. towns, #585 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 Wake Village?
0.2% of Wake Village’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
