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History · Blanco

Blanco’s post office opened in 1901, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1898 on.

1901first post office
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Blanco began

When was Blanco founded?

1901

The Blanco post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 105125 years
Founding year: the first Blanco post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Blanco’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 Blanco are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1991. Watch Blanco change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Blanco’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Blanco’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
On the map

Blanco on the map, 1898 to 1991

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

Blanco on the 1898 USGS mapBlanco on the 1909 USGS mapBlanco on the 1991 USGS map1898McAlester 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 Blanco.

The story

How Blanco came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Blanco.

Read it all →

A post office was established at Blanco, Indian Territory on August 31, 1901. Blanco was named for Ramón Blanco y Erenas, one-time governor general of Cuba. The post office opened August 31, 1901.

At the time of its founding, the community was located in the Moshulatubbee District of the Choctaw Nation. It was located in either Atoka County or Tobucksy County. The settlement was in the area of the county boundary, and differing maps of the era show it in each.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Blanco, 1898 to 1926

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901Born herePryor McBee is born here
  5. 1901Post officeThe Blanco post office opens
  6. 1904Born hereRoyce H. Savage is born here
  7. 1926Born hereGene Stipe is born here
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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Famous people

3 famous people were born in Blanco

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Gene StipeAmerican politician · b. 1926
Royce H. SavageUnited States federal judge · b. 1904
P
Pryor McBeeMajor League Baseball player · b. 1901

Questions about Blanco’s history

What year was Blanco founded?

The Blanco post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.