Gholson, Texas
18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1892 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the West census division. It lies in ZIP code area 76705. It stands on Rock Creek. The Survey maps it on the Gholson quadrangle. 1,250 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 430 feet above sea level.
Population over time
3 figuresGholson grew from 922 to 1,250 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 922 | |
| 2010 | 1,061 | +139 (+15%) |
| 2020 | 1,250 | +189 (+18%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 18 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1892 USGS Waco quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1920 USGS Waco quadrangle1:125000
- 1931 USGS Elm Mott quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1954 USGS Waco quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Waco quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Gholson quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1985 USGS Waco quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
188 since 2004Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 188 fires within 5 miles of Gholson between 2004 and 2020, burning about 1,084 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 79 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 56 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 23 |
| Smoking | 16 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 7.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | 1941 GRASS/TRACTOR FIRE ROSS RD |
| 5 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | 18318 |
| 5 September 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | 1829 RIVER RD |
| 30 September 2017 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | 166-17 |
| 30 September 2013 | Debris and open burning | 6.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | CULPEPPER LN. FIRE |
| 30 September 2004 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 3 September 2005 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 24 September 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Gholson: 1 past producer, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Waco Sand and Gravel Co Pit & Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
9 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gholson in 9 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 7 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2009 | Hail | Gholson | $10,000 | Golfball size hail fell 5 miles north of the Waco Airport. |
| June 2025 | Tornado (EF0) | Gholson | $7,000 | A brief tornado was caught on video west of Gholson. Local officials found damage to a property near Mary Ware Dr and Hamilton Dr. Travel trailers and outhouse buildings were moved on the property. Part of the metal roof of a manufactured home was peeled off, and other metal roofs on small sheds were removed. Trees were damaged on the property. This tornado was rated EF-0 with maximum winds of 80 mph. |
| June 2016 | Hail | Gholson | $5,000 | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Gholson | $1,000 | Pea to golf ball-size hail reported. |
| April 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gholson | $100 | Thunderstorm winds blew down trees. |
| May 2020 | Hail | Gholson | - | Ping pong ball size hail was reported in Gholson. |
| May 1995 | Hail | Gholson | - | Softball-size hail fell at TSTI. |
| April 2008 | Hail | Gholson | - | no account filed |
| January 1995 | Hail | Gholson | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick | 2.0 miles | 18 | |
| Rogers Hill | 2.3 miles | 18 | |
| Rock Creek | 2.7 miles | 18 | |
| Valley View | 5.1 miles | 18 | |
| Tokio | 5.1 miles | 15 | |
| Wiggins | 5.2 miles | 15 | |
| Ross | 5.3 miles | 18 | |
| Erath | 5.3 miles | 18 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Gholson | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q971141 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1381912. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






