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History · Billings

Billings dates to 1893, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Renfrow House and the Renfrow Building. Below: maps from 1968 on and the census since 1900.

1893founded
2on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Billings began

When was Billings founded?

1893

Billings dates its founding to 1893 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 406 in 19002020 census: 578133 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1899.The full story ↓

What stands out about Billings’ 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 Billings are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 846 in 1920; 578 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Billings’ homes were built before 1951.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Billings’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Billings’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

Billings, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 846

Peaked at 846 in 1920; 578 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Billings came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Billings.

Read it all →

Billings was called "White Rock", when it was founded in 1893, at the time of the Cherokee Strip Land Run. It was then 3 miles (4.8 km) east and 2 miles (3.2 km) south of its present site. Billings' economy was based on agriculture in the surrounding area. The Enid and Tonkawa Railway (acquired by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway in 1900) built a spur line out from North Enid in 1899. The railroad, however, did not go through White Rock, so the residents soon moved to the present location. The new town opened October 23, 1899, and was renamed for M. O. Billings, a director of the Billings Town Company.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Billings, 1893 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893
    FoundingBillings is established
  3. 1899Post officeThe Billings post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 846
  6. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Billings, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Renfrow Building2020Renfrow BuildingBillings Oklahoma2007Billings OklahomaOKMap-doton-Billings2004OKMap-doton-Billings
On the map

Billings on the map, 1968 to 1985

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

Billings on the 1968 USGS mapBillings on the 1985 USGS map1968Billings sheet · 1:24,000

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

On the National Register

2 historic places in Billings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Renfrow House
Renfrow HouseRenfrow Building
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Richardsonian Romanesque2
Renfrow HouseRichardsonian Romanesque
All 2 listings
Renfrow BuildingBuilding · listed 1984

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Billings

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

See all →
Owen K. GarriottAmerican electrical engineer and astronaut · b. 1930
Glenda FarrellAmerican actress · b. 1904
Thad LuckinbillAmerican actor and film producer · b. 1975
Danny HodgeAmerican boxer, professional and amateur wrestl… · b. 1932
Richard ErdmanAmerican actor, film director · b. 1925
Don NicklesAmerican businessperson, former Republican Unit… · b. 1948

Questions about Billings’ history

What year was Billings founded?

In 1893, according to Wikidata. Billings’ post office opened in 1899, and the census of 1900 counted 406 people here.

What is on the National Register in Billings?

Two places: the Renfrow House (listed 1984) and the Renfrow Building (1984).

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 (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.