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History · Bernice

Bernice dates to 1912

Most of Bernice was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1907 on and the census since 1920.

1912founded
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
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Photo: TulGuy · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Bernice began

When was Bernice founded?

1912

Bernice dates its founding to 1912 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 198 in 19202020 census: 422114 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1894.The full story ↓

What stands out about Bernice’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 Bernice are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1940 and 1950, then grew 4-fold.On the map since 19073 editions of the USGS map, 1907 to 1986. Watch Bernice change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bernice’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bernice’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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People over time

Bernice, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020205 in 1940Low: 91

Lost half of its people between 1940 and 1950, then grew 4-fold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

On the map

Bernice on the map, 1907 to 1986

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

Bernice on the 1907 USGS mapBernice on the 1971 USGS mapBernice on the 1986 USGS map1907Wyandotte 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 Bernice.

The story

How Bernice came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bernice.

Read it all →

Bernice was founded in 1912, after Rose Mode and his partner, Charles Lee, bought 60 acres (24 ha) of land in the Horse Creek Basin of northwestern Delaware County. The town was named for Mode's daughter, Bernice. A post office was established on February 12, 1913, and the town soon became a local agricultural center. By 1918, Bernice had an estimated population of nearly 400 people. Businesses included a bank, a milliner, a grain elevator, a sawmill, a hotel, a flour mill, and three general stores. The population declined after World War I and the Great Depression from 198 in 1920 to 162 in 1930, and 91 in 1940. After World War II, population growth rebounded to 318 in 1980.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bernice, 1894 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1894Post officeThe Needmore post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1912
    FoundingBernice is established
  6. 1913Post officeThe Needmore post office closes
  7. 1913Post officeThe Bernice post office opens
  8. 1960Post officeThe Bernice post office closes
  9. 21st century
  10. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 562
By decade

Bernice, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Bernice Town Hall 8-20262026Bernice Town Hall 8-2026Bernice State Park2 8-20262026Bernice State Park2 8-2026OKMap-doton-Bernice2004OKMap-doton-Bernice
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Bernice had its own post office from 1913 to 1960. Another post office, Needmore, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Needmore
1894–1913
Bernice
1913–1960
18901960today

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

Questions about Bernice’s history

What year was Bernice founded?

In 1912, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bernice’s post office opened in 1894, and the census of 1920 counted 198 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (3), 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.