Altus’ post office opened in 1890, and 7 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #43 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
Most of Altus was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. 7 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 43 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1910.
The Altus post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Frazer (1886), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 4,821 in 19102020 census: 18,729136 years
How historic is Altus?
B
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Altus post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Altus’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Altus is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #43 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 Altus’ 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 Altus’ 27.4 sits above most of its state (83% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 51 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% 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 (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Altus’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Altus, building by building, 1904–1920
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.
The town that would later be named Altus was founded in 1886. The community was originally called "Frazer", a settlement of about 50 people on Bitter Creek that served as a trading post on the Great Western Cattle Trail. Cowboys driving herds northward often stopped to buy buttermilk from John McClearan. Thus, the town was known locally as "Buttermilk Station". The Frazer post office opened February 18, 1886. A flash flood nearly destroyed Frazer on June 4, 1891. The residents moved to higher ground 2.5 miles (4.0 km) east of the original site. W. R. Baucum suggested renaming the town "Altus", a Latin word meaning "high". This name stuck, although the town was also known as "Leger" from July 10, 1901, to May 14, 1904.
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.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Altus’s post office has been open since 1890. Another post office, Frazer, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Frazer
1886–1895
Altus
1890–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Welon
1cemetery inside Altus
Altus
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Altus’ history
What year was Altus founded?
The Altus post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Altus rank for history?
Altus is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #43 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 Altus?
7 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Jackson County Courthouse (listed 1984, the first), 1 historic district, the Downtown Altus Historic District, with 43 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 51 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Altus?
8% of Altus’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.
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