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–Not graded
History · Bell

Half of Bell’s homes were built after 1975

Most of Bell was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Bell’s 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 Bell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18984 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1982. Watch Bell change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bell’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Bell on the map, 1898 to 1982

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

Bell on the 1898 USGS mapBell on the 1901 USGS mapBell on the 1973 USGS mapBell on the 1982 USGS map1898Tahlequah sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story so far

Bell, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bell yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Bell is a census-designated place (CDP) in Adair County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bell had a population of 191.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 535 to 191 (-64%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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People over time

Bell, census by census

010020030040050060020002020Peak: 602

Between 191 and 602 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Bell

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

See all →
Atalie UnkaluntCherokee singer, activist, and designer · b. 1895
Ned ChristieCherokee leader · b. 1852
D
Donald VannNative American painter · b. 1949
J
John Auffetb. 1945
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Honey HillIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bell’s history

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.