Willacy County, Texas
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 2 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1985. Most listings are in or near Lyford, Raymondville.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Texas is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Willacy titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP2 of 2 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
2 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Old Lyford High School | Lyford | 1985 |
| Willacy County Courthouse | Raymondville | 2017 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBWillacy was formed in 1911 (1911-03-11) from Cameron, Hidalgo.
WILLACY created from CAMERON and HIDALGO.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusWillacy County population from 1930 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,499 | 13,230 | 20,920 | 20,084 | 17,495 | 20,082 | 20,164 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site | Park unit | 56.1 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS15 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 15 of 15 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Chavez Cemetery |
| El Toro Cemetery |
| Garcia Cemetery |
| Guadalupe Cemetery |
| La Jarita Cemetery |
| La Piedad Cementerio Numero Dos |
| La Piedad Cementerio Numero Uno |
| Lasara Memorial Cemetery |
| Noyola Cemetery |
| Raymondville Cemetery |
| Sabino Cemetery |
| San Antonio Cemetery |
| San Martin Cemetery |
| Santa Rita Cemetery |
| Tanquesitos Cemetery |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Willacy County, Texas
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.