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B+History
History · Yoakum

Yoakum’s post office opened in 1887, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns · #51 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 96 buildings. Below: maps from 1963 on and the census since 1890.

1887first post office
4on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
12famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Yoakum began

When was Yoakum founded?

1887

The Yoakum post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,745 in 18902020 census: 5,908139 years

How historic is Yoakum?

B+

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Yoakum post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Yoakum’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Yoakum is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #51 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Yoakum’s overall grade.
Founding era1887, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194013.5% of homes (±5.6) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register4 listings, 100 historic buildings, 171 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 71%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 92%

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 Yoakum’s 171 sits above most of its state (97% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 100 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 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 Yoakum’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Yoakum are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Yoakum Commercial Historic District takes in 96 historic buildings.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.Famous sons and daughtersArthur Harnden, Billie Lee Turner and 10 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Yoakum’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Yoakum’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

4 listings protect 100 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
100
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
May-Hickey House
Municipal Power PlantBaker HouseYoakum Commercial Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Industrial1
Late Victorian: Queen Anne1
Municipal Power PlantIndustrial
Baker HouseLate Victorian: Queen Anne
All 4 listings
May-Hickey HouseBuilding · listed 1988Yoakum Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2019

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Yoakum came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Yoakum.

Read it all →

The area was sparsely settled until a townsite was laid out with the construction of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway in 1887, and named for Benjamin F. Yoakum, a vice president of the line. The railroad built a roundhouse and maintenance shops there, employing hundreds of workers. The town was incorporated in 1889. According to the Handbook of Texas Online, "By 1896 Yoakum had a cotton mill, three cotton gins, a compress, several churches, a bank, an ice factory, specialty and general stores, two weekly newspapers and one daily, a school system with 700 pupils, and a population of 3,000. By 1914 the number of residents had reached 7,500." In the early 20th century, the Tex-Tan company, later part of the Tandy Corporation, manufactured saddles, bridles, harnesses, belts, and wallets. Other industries included a dairy, a cannery, meat-packing and food-processing plants, and a me…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Yoakum, 1887 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Yoakum post office opens
  3. 1898Born hereHubert Renfro Knickerbocker is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1924Born hereArthur Harnden is born here
  6. 1925Born hereBillie Lee Turner is born here
  7. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1995Born hereDamion Ratley is born here
By decade

Yoakum, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Yoakum Municipal Power Plant Wiki-12023Yoakum Municipal Power Plant Wiki-1Downtown Yoakum 1 Wiki-12023Downtown Yoakum 1 Wiki-1Votes For Women - DIG14674-0162020Votes For Women - DIG14674-016Yoakum High School Plaque2018Yoakum High School PlaqueBaker House2014Baker HouseYoakum, Texas2009Yoakum, Texas
On the map

Yoakum on the map, 1963 to 1987

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

Yoakum on the 1963 USGS mapYoakum on the 1987 USGS map1963Yoakum 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 Yoakum.

People over time

Yoakum, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 6,184

Between 1,745 and 6,184 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

12 famous people were born in Yoakum

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
A
Arthur HarndenAmerican athletics competitor · b. 1924
B
Billie Lee TurnerAmerican botanist · b. 1925
H
Hubert Renfro KnickerbockerAmerican journalist and author · b. 1898
Damion RatleyAmerican football player · b. 1995
J
Jim MarquisAmerican baseball player · b. 1900
Ryan WagnerAmerican baseball player · b. 1982

Questions about Yoakum’s history

What year was Yoakum founded?

The Yoakum post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Yoakum rank for history?

Yoakum is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #51 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.

What is on the National Register in Yoakum?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the May-Hickey House (listed 1988, the first), and 1 historic district, the Yoakum Commercial Historic District, with 96 contributing buildings. 100 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Yoakum?

14% of Yoakum’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1970.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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) 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.