Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Ames

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Ames

Ames dates to 1893

Most of Ames was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1920.

1893founded
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Ames began

When was Ames founded?

1893

Ames dates its founding to 1893 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 278 in 19202020 census: 193133 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1894.The full story ↓

What stands out about Ames’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Ames are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 332 in 1940; 193 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ames’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ames’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Ames, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 332

Peaked at 332 in 1940; 193 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Ames came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ames.

Read it all →

Ames was founded at the opening of the Cherokee Outlet on September 16, 1893. It was initially named "Hoyle", for a nearby creek. The Blackwell, Enid and Southwestern Railroad (later the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway) constructed a line from Blackwell in Kay County to Darrow in Blaine County, that passed through the community. On January 4, 1902, it was named for Henry S. Ames, a railroad official.

Ames had a population of 278 at the 1920 census and 332 at the 1940 census, its peak population.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ames, 1893 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893
    FoundingAmes is established
  3. 1894Post officeThe Hoyle post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902Post officeThe Hoyle post office closes
  6. 1902Post officeThe Ames post office opens
  7. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 332
  8. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Ames, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Ames crater LC08 CU 015012 20211031 20211113 022021Ames crater LC08 CU 015012 20211031 20211113 02
On the map

Ames on the map, 1956 to 1982

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

Ames on the 1956 USGS mapAmes on the 1982 USGS map1956Ames sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ames.

Famous people

Famous people close to Ames

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

See all →
Owen K. GarriottAmerican electrical engineer and astronaut · b. 1930
N
Nicki AycoxAmerican actress · b. 1975
Glenda FarrellAmerican actress · b. 1904
Thad LuckinbillAmerican actor and film producer · b. 1975
Richard ErdmanAmerican actor, film director · b. 1925
Nokie EdwardsAmerican musician · b. 1935
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Ames’s post office has been open since 1902. Another post office, Hoyle, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hoyle
1894–1902
Ames
1902–today
18901960today

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

Questions about Ames’ history

What year was Ames founded?

In 1893, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Ames’ post office opened in 1894, and the census of 1920 counted 278 people here.

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 (1), Wikipedia, 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.