Founding year: the first West post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1892.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives West’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #153 of 642 in Texas. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West’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 West’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 B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1892 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 West’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Waco sheet · 1:125,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of West.
Every building
West, building by building, 1900–1921
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The first settlers of northern McLennan County arrived in the 1840s. They were farm and ranch families drawn from the east by the rich lands made available by the government sale of land to build schools in Texas. The area farmers cultivated the land and grew cotton, wheat, and grain sorghum, and raised cattle. The farming community centered on a freshwater spring that became known as Bold Springs. In 1860, Bold Springs had a population of about 300 and provided services such as a blacksmith, churches, and a post office.
Passages that mention West, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Historical collections of the great West1852 · page 339Read the page →
Read the text
Difficulties arising with the people of Clay County, the Mormons removed their head-quarters to what is now Caldwell, then part of Ray County, and founded the town of Far West. Settlements were also made by them at Diahmond, in Davis County, at Dewitt, in Carrol County, and at other points. At these places, large numbers of them soon gathered, rapidly improving town and county.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Historical collections of the great West1852 · page 25Read the page →
Read the text
American arms, sued for peace. On the 3d of August, 1795, Gen. Wayne concluded a treaty at Greenville, sixty miles north of Cincinnati, with eleven ot the most powerful northwestern tribes, in grand council. This gave peace to the West, of several years' duration, during which, the settlements progressed with great rapidity. Jay's Treaty, concluded November 19th, 1794, was a most important event to the prosperity of the West. It provided for the withdrawal of all the British troops from the northwestern posts. In 1796, the Northwestern Territory was divided into five counties. Marietta was the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
West, 1882 to 1979
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The West post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1892.
How does West rank for history?
West is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #153 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 West?
24% of West’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 the Library of Congress (6), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1913
1939
1939
1939