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History · Blackburn

Blackburn’s post office opened in 1893, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Blackburn Methodist Church. Below: maps from 1929 on and the census since 1910.

1893first post office

1on the National Register

30%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Blackburn began, and where its name came from

When was Blackburn founded?

1893

The Blackburn post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 335 in 19102020 census: 70133 years

How did Blackburn get its name?

Blackburn was named for Kentucky Senator Joseph C. S. Blackburn.

Founding year: the first Blackburn post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Blackburn’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 Blackburn are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Blackburn’s homes were built before 1962.

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Start Blackburn’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Blackburn’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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The story

How Blackburn came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Blackburn.

Read it all →

Located on the south side of the Arkansas River at a natural ford, the community of Blackburn developed after the opening of the Cherokee Outlet on September 16, 1893. It was named for Kentucky Senator Joseph C. S. Blackburn. A post office was established December 15, 1893. Because it was located in Oklahoma Territory, Blackburn was a "whiskey town" that bordered Indian Territory until statehood in 1907. The town was incorporated April 21, 1909.

While historically Blackburn's economy was based on agriculture, in the twenty-first century, the town serves primarily as a bedroom community for commuters to Pawnee and other job centers.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Blackburn, 1893 to 1960

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

19th century
1893Post officeThe Blackburn post office opens
20th century
1929On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1960Post officeThe Blackburn post office closes

By decade

Blackburn, decade by decade

Today2 recent

2020Blackburn Methodist Church

2005Blackburn, Oklahoma

On the map

Blackburn on the map, 1929 to 1978

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

1929Skedee 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 Blackburn.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Blackburn

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

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1984

Blackburn Methodist Church

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Carpenter Gothic1

Blackburn Methodist ChurchCarpenter Gothic

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

People over time

Blackburn, census by census

Between 70 and 335 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Blackburn

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

See all →

Chet BakerAmerican jazz trumpeter and vocalist · b. 1929

Maria TallchiefAmerican ballerina · b. 1925

Saginaw GrantNative American actor, dancer, motivational spe… · b. 1936

Lee HazlewoodAmerican singer, songwriter, record producer · b. 1929

Chester GouldAmerican cartoonist · b. 1900

Larry SellersAmerican actor · b. 1949

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Blackburn had its own post office from 1893 to 1960.

Blackburn

1893–1960

18901960today

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

Questions about Blackburn’s history

What year was Blackburn founded?

The Blackburn post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Blackburn?

One place: the Blackburn Methodist Church (listed 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 (2), 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.

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