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History · Wells

Wells dates to 1885, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1951 on, and the census since 1930.

1885founded
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wells’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wells began

When was Wells founded?

1885

Wells dates its founding to 1885 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 475 in 19302020 census: 853141 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1886.The full story ↓
The story

How Wells came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wells.

Read it all →

Wells is at the junction of U.S. Highway 69 and Farm to Market Road 1247, twenty-three miles south of Rusk in extreme southern Cherokee County. It was established in 1885 as a stop on the newly constructed Kansas and Gulf Short Line Railroad and was named for Maj. E. H. Wells, a civil engineer for the railroad. A post office opened in 1886, and by 1890 the town had a sawmill, a hotel, a Methodist church, three general stores, and a population of fifty. Shortly after the railroad was completed, the state penitentiary established a satellite camp just outside the town to produce charcoal for the state-run iron works at Rusk. The presence of the prison camp discouraged many potential settlers, and the town's population remained small until after 1900, when the charcoal camp was closed. During the 1910s, however, the town boomed; the First State Bank of Wells opened in 1913, and the followi…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wells, 1885 to 1951

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885
    FoundingWells is established
  3. 1886Post officeThe Wells post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1939In the archiveSawmill. Wells, Texas
  6. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Wells, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s5 items
Sawmill. Wells, Texas1939Sawmill. Wells, TexasLineup of school buses near Wells, Texas1939Lineup of school buses near Wells, TexasBurning pile of sawdust at sawmill at Wells, Texas1939Burning pile of sawdust at sawmill at Wells, TexasBurning pile of sawdust at sawmill at Wells, Texas1939Burning pile of sawdust at sawmill at Wells, TexasSawmill and waste lumber pile being burned. Wells, Texas1939Sawmill and waste lumber pile being burned. Wells, Te…
1940s–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
On the map

Wells on the map, 1951 to 2004

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

Wells on the 1951 USGS mapWells on the 1980 USGS mapWells on the 2004 USGS map1951Wells sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wells.

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.

Sawmill. Wells, Texas
Retake this viewSawmill. Wells, Texas, 1939

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Wells’ page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Wells, census by census

02004006008001,00019401960198020002020Peak: 926

Between 475 and 926 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Wells

Nobody well known was born in Wells itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Clint DempseyAmerican soccer player · b. 1983
J
Joseph W. KennedyAmerican chemist · b. 1916
Rain PhoenixAmerican actress and musician · b. 1972
W
William Delbert GannAmerican businessman · b. 1878
John ArledgeAmerican actor · b. 1907
Allan ShiversPolitician · b. 1907
Help out

Finish Wells’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSawmill. Wells, Texas: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Wells’ history

What year was Wells founded?

In 1885, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Wells’ post office opened in 1886, and the census of 1930 counted 475 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From the Library of Congress (5), Wikipedia, 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.