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History · Oatman

Oatman’s post office opened in 1909, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Its Register listings are the Durlin Hotel and the Oatman Drug Company Building. Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1967 on.

1909first post office
2on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Oatman’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Oatman began

When was Oatman founded?

1909

The Oatman post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 102117 years
Founding year: the first Oatman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
The story

How Oatman came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oatman.

Read it all →

The name Oatman was chosen in honor of Olive Oatman, a young Illinois girl who was captured and enslaved by Indians, probably from the Tolkepayas tribe, during her pioneer family's massacre while on their journey westward in 1851. She was later sold or traded to the Mohave people, who adopted her and tattooed her face in the custom of the tribe. She was released in 1856 at Fort Yuma.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Oatman, 1900 to 1967

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900In the archiveStreet and business enterprises, including the Arizona Hotel
  3. 1909Post officeThe Oatman post office opens
  4. 1916In the archiveOatman, Ariz
  5. 1921In the archiveUSGS Oatman 1921 rfl01247
  6. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Oatman, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1920s6 items
Street and business enterprises, including the Arizona Hotel1900Street and business enterprises, including the Arizon…Oatman, Ariz1916Oatman, ArizUSGS Oatman 1921 rfl012471921USGS Oatman 1921 rfl01247USGS Oatman 1921 rfl012511921USGS Oatman 1921 rfl01251USGS Oatman 1921 rfl012621921USGS Oatman 1921 rfl01262USGS Oatman 1921 rfl012641921USGS Oatman 1921 rfl01264
1930s–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
On the map

Oatman on the map in 1967

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Oatman.

Oatman on the 1967 USGS map1967Oatman 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 Oatman.

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.

Street and business enterprises, including the Arizona Hotel
Retake this viewStreet and business enterprises, including the Arizona Hotel, 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Oatman

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Durlin Hotel
Durlin HotelOatman Drug Company Building
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Spanish Colonial Revival1
Western Vernacular1
Durlin HotelVernacular
Oatman Drug Company BuildingWestern Vernacular

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Oatman

Nobody well known was born in Oatman itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Aron RaAmerican atheist activist · b. 1962
Natalie DiazMojave poet, writer and basketball player · b. 1978
Josh BriggsAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1993
J
Jason ZumwaltAmerican actor · b. 1975
Joe HartAmerican politician · b. 1944
Doug MirabelliAmerican baseball player · b. 1970
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Oatman’s post office has been open since 1909.

Gone or out of use
United Eastern Minemine

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

Help out

Finish Oatman’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewStreet and business enterprises, includ…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Oatman’s history

What year was Oatman founded?

The Oatman post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Oatman?

Two places: the Durlin Hotel (listed 1983) and the Oatman Drug Company Building (2006).

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 (4), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.