TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
RowenaGood afternoon
History · Rowena

Rowena’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Rowena. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Rowena is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) in southwestern Runnels County, Texas, United States, designed by Paul J. Baron in 1898. As of the 2020 census, Rowena had a population of 305. The elevation is 1759 feet above sea level.

Half of its homes were built before 1940.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rowena yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Rowena’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people close to Rowena

See all 14 →
NRNancy RicheySan Angelo · 28 miJCJulie CondraBallinger · 9 miTBTravis BaldreeEden · 32 miFRFred RoeRobert Lee · 31 miRGRoxy GordonBallinger · 9 miGCGeoff ConnorWinters · 22 mi
By decade

Rowena, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Rowena is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Rowena has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is J. Thiele Building in Miles, 8.6 miles away.

Rowena and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Rowena. Tap a dot.
J. Thiele BuildingVan Pelt HouseBallinger Carnegie LibraryEdwin and Hattie Day HouseConcho County CourthouseEola School

Closest to Rowena

J. Thiele BuildingMiles · Building8.6miVan Pelt HouseBallinger · Building8.6miBallinger Carnegie LibraryBallinger · Built 19098.8miEdwin and Hattie Day HouseBallinger · Building8.9miConcho County CourthousePaint Rock · Building12mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. J. Thiele Building’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Rowena?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Rowena’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Ballinger📜 Miles📜 Paint Rock📜 Winters
The door’s open

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Rowena, TXView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Rowena is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map