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History · Oakman

Oakman was first counted by the census in 1890, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Oakman was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Its Register listing is the Stephenson House. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1890.

1890first census
1on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Oakman’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Oakman began

When was Oakman founded?

1890

Oakman first appears in the census in 1890. Three smaller post offices, York (1848), Marietta (1885) and Days Gap (1887), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 421 in 18902020 census: 771136 years
Founding year: the first census.

What stands out about Oakman’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Oakman, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,083 in 1920; 771 people lived here in 2020.Mystery photos5 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Oakman’s post office has been open since 1894. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

York
1848–1887
Marietta
1885–1920
Days Gap
1887–1894
Oakman
1894–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Marietta
Gone or out of use
Days Gap Drift MinemineFrost Drift MinemineGaslight MinemineOakman Minemine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Oakman
DayOakman

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

People over time

Oakman, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,083

Peaked at 1,083 in 1920; 771 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Oakman’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo5 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewCorry Homestead, Corry House, State Rou…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Oakman, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Oakman yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Oakman is a town in Walker County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 771, down from 789 in 2010. Initially named Day (or Day's) Gap, it was renamed Oakman and incorporated in 1895.

Its first post office opened in 1890. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 789 to 771 (-2%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Oakman, 1848 to 1949

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848Post officeThe York post office opens
  3. 1885Post officeThe Marietta post office opens
  4. 1887Post officeThe York post office closes
  5. 1887Post officeThe Days Gap post office opens
  6. 1894Post officeThe Days Gap post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1920Post officeThe Marietta post office closes
  9. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 1,083
  10. 1933In the archiveCorry Homestead, Corry House, State Route 69, 10 miles South of Jasper (244 School Street…
  11. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Oakman, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s6 items
Corry Homestead, Corry House, State Route 69, 10 miles South of Jasper (244 School Street), Oakman, Walker County, AL H…1933Corry Homestead, Corry House, State Route 69, 10 mile…Corry Homestead, Corry House, State Route 69, 10 miles South of Jasper (244 School Street), Oakman, Walker County, AL H…1933Corry Homestead, Corry House, State Route 69, 10 mile…Corry Homestead, Corry House, State Route 69, 10 miles South of Jasper (244 School Street), Oakman, Walker County, AL H…1933Corry Homestead, Corry House, State Route 69, 10 mile…Corry Homestead, Corry House, State Route 69, 10 miles South of Jasper (244 School Street), Oakman, Walker County, AL H…1933Corry Homestead, Corry House, State Route 69, 10 mile…EXTERIOR VIEW, FRONT (WEST) ELEVATION - Stevenson House, U.S. Highway 691933EXTERIOR VIEW, FRONT (WEST) ELEVATION - Stevenson Hou…EXTERIOR VIEW, FRONT ELEVATION - Corry Homestead, Corry House, State Route 69, 10 miles South of Jasper (244 School Str…1933EXTERIOR VIEW, FRONT ELEVATION - Corry Homestead, Cor…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown5 to date
INTERIOR VIEW OF SALOON SHOWING ROSEWOOD BAR FROM THE CHAMBORDEN SALOON AND (LEFT TO RIGHT) EDDIE KEY, MARJORIE WHITE A…Date?INTERIOR VIEW OF SALOON SHOWING ROSEWOOD BAR FROM THE…OBLIQUE-EXTERIOR VIEW WITH SALOON, HOTEL AND COMPLEX - Corry Homestead, Southern Museum of Folklife, State Route 69, 10…Date?OBLIQUE-EXTERIOR VIEW WITH SALOON, HOTEL AND COMPLEX …Stevenson House, U.S. Highway 69Date?Stevenson House, U.S. Highway 69Corry Homestead, Southern Museum of Folklife, State Route 69, 10 miles South of JasperDate?Corry Homestead, Southern Museum of Folklife, State R…Corry Homestead, Corry House, State Route 69, 10 miles South of Jasper (244 School Street)Date?Corry Homestead, Corry House, State Route 69, 10 mile…
Today2 recent
Stephenson House2014Stephenson HouseALMap-doton-Oakman2004ALMap-doton-Oakman
On the map

Oakman on the map, 1949 to 1981

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

Oakman on the 1949 USGS mapOakman on the 1951 USGS mapOakman on the 1981 USGS map1949Oakman 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 Oakman.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Corry Homestead, Corry House, State Route 69, 10 miles South of Jasper (244 School Street), Oakman, Walker County, AL H…
Retake this viewCorry Homestead, Corry House, State Route 69, 10 miles South of Jasper (244 School Street), Oakman, Walker County, AL H…, 1933

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Oakman’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Oakman

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Stephenson House
Stephenson House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Eastlake1
Victorian1
Stephenson HouseQueen Anne

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

Questions about Oakman’s history

What year was Oakman founded?

The Oakman post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Oakman?

One place: the Stephenson House (listed 1978).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.