Most of Winters was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1958. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first Winters post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Winters’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Winters is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Winters’ 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 Winters’ 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 (±3.1 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 Winters’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1880, the families of C.N. Curry and C.E. Bell settled in an area known as Bluff Creek Valley, southwest of the present town. Local cowboy Jack Mackey suggested that the community be named in honor of John N. Winters, a rancher and land agent. A post office was established in 1891 and Mr. Winters donated land for a school soon after. Winters had roughly 163 residents in 1892. It became famous for a traveling brass band that was organized by Charles Tipton Grant in 1901. A newspaper began publishing in 1903. Winters incorporated in 1909, the same year that the Abilene and Southern Railway built an extension from Abilene to Winters. Land values in the city jumped to $7.00 per acre. A cottonseed mill became the first major industry in Winters when it opened in 1909. It remained in operation until 1939. In 1910, the population had risen to 1,247. A public library was constructed in 1964.…
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 Winters post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Winters rank for history?
Winters is more historic than 24% 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 Winters?
6% of Winters’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (3), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
Date?
Date?
2024
2015
2015
2014