The Waskom post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Waskom Station (1872), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 1,910145 years
How historic is Waskom?
C+
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Waskom post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Waskom’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waskom is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waskom’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 Waskom’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 C to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.6 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 Waskom’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The city of Waskom was established in 1850 as Powell Town, presumably for Jonathan S. Powell, who owned a land grant in the area. It was founded as a midway point for an east-west (Dallas to Shreveport) cattle and cotton economic trail to the Red River in Louisiana.
From 1850 to 1872 it had a post office as Powellton. In 1872, it became a main railroad station between Dallas, Texarkana, and Shreveport. The city's named was changed to Waskom Station in 1872 and to Waskom in 1881 after J. M. Waskom, a director of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
In 2014 and 2015, Waskom High School won the 2 state title in football.
Waskom’s post office has been open since 1881. Another post office, Waskom Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Waskom Station
1872–1881
Waskom
1881–today
18701950today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Waskom’s history
What year was Waskom founded?
The Waskom post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Waskom rank for history?
Waskom is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. 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 Waskom?
14% of Waskom’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.6 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
2007