Ada dates to 1889, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #55 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1891.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ada’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ada is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #55 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ada’s overall grade.
Oklahoma towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oklahoma town has 5.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Ada’s 4.2 sits near the middle of its state (47% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1889.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Ada’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In the late 1880s, the Daggs family (by way of Texas) became the first white family to settle what is now known as Ada, which was formerly known as Daggs Prairie. In April 1889, Jeff Reed (a Texan and relative of the Daggs family) was appointed to carry the mail from Stonewall to Center (which was later combined with Pickett), two small communities in then Indian Territory. With his family and his stock, he sought a place for a home on a prairie midway between the two points, where he constructed a log house and started Reed's Store. Other settlers soon built homes nearby. In 1891, a post office was established and named after Reed's oldest daughter, Ada. Ada incorporated as a city in 1901 and grew rapidly with the arrival of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway line. Within a decade the Santa Fe Railroad and the Oklahoma Central Railway also served the town.
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.
In 1889, according to Wikidata. Ada’s post office opened in 1891, and the census of 1910 counted 4,349 people here.
How does Ada rank for history?
Ada is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #55 of 131 in Oklahoma. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Ada?
6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Pontotoc County Courthouse (listed 1984, the first), and 1 historic district, the Wintersmith Park Historic District, with 2 contributing buildings. 7 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Ada?
11% of Ada’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1969.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1903
