Most of Arkoma was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Its Register listing is the Arkoma School. Below: maps from 1887 on and the census since 1950.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1914.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Arkoma’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arkoma is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Arkoma’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 Arkoma’s 5.1 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1911.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Arkoma’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The community of Arkoma was established circa 1911 on land owned by Captain James Reynolds, a Civil War veteran who had married into the Choctaw Nation. He chose to turn his property into a suburb of Fort Smith. He built houses to rent. He persuaded the Fort Smith Light and Traction Company to construct tracks and operate an electric trolley route to his new community. The streetcar line ceased operating in 1917.
In 1911, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Arkoma’s post office opened in 1914, and the census of 1950 counted 1,691 people here.
How does Arkoma rank for history?
Arkoma is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. 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 Arkoma?
One place: the Arkoma School (listed 1988).
How old are the homes in Arkoma?
7% of Arkoma’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (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.
