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History · Boswell

Boswell’s post office opened in 1902

Most of Boswell was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1910.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Boswell’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Boswell began

When was Boswell founded?

1902

The Boswell post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mayhew (1845), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 828 in 19102020 census: 579124 years
Founding year: the first Boswell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Boswell’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19015 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1985. Watch Boswell change.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,212 in 1920; 579 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Boswell’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Boswell on the map, 1901 to 1985

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

Boswell on the 1901 USGS mapBoswell on the 1912 USGS mapBoswell on the 1925 USGS mapBoswell on the 1969 USGS mapBoswell on the 1985 USGS map1901Antlers 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 Boswell.

People over time

Boswell, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,212

Peaked at 1,212 in 1920; 579 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Boswell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Boswell.

Read it all →

The Boswell area was one of the Choctaw Nation's first and most important settlements. A Presbyterian missionary station was founded at Mayhew, Indian Territory, three miles north of present-day Boswell in the 1840s. It soon became a government center as well as seat of civilization. Mayhew became the administrative and judicial capital of the Pushmataha District, one of three administrative super-regions comprising the Choctaw Nation.

Mayhew was located in Blue County, one of the counties comprising the Pushmataha District. In 1886 portions of Blue County, including Mayhew, were joined with parts of adjacent counties to form Jackson County. The new county's seat of government was at Pigeon Roost, south of Boswell.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Boswell, 1845 to 1929

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1845Post officeThe Mayhew post office opens
  3. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Choctaw County - ED 12-1 - ED 12-27
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900Born hereHarry J. W. Belvin is born here
  6. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1902Post officeThe Mayhew post office closes
  8. 1902Post officeThe Boswell post office opens
  9. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 1,212
  10. 1926Born hereOwanah Anderson is born here
  11. 1929Born hereFred Joiner is born here
By decade

Boswell, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s2 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Choctaw County - ED 12-1 - ED 12-2718801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Ch…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Choctaw County - ED 12-1 - ED 12-2718801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Ch…
1890s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
OKMap-doton-Boswell2004OKMap-doton-Boswell
Every building

Boswell, building by building, 1916

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Boswell fire insurance map, 1916, sheet 11916Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Choctaw County - ED 12-1 - ED 12-27
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Choctaw County - ED 12-1 - ED 12-27, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Boswell’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Boswell

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

See all →
H
Harry J. W. BelvinAmerican politician · b. 1900
F
Fred JoinerAmerican politician · b. 1929
O
Owanah AndersonChoctaw author and indigenous rights activist · b. 1926
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Boswell’s post office has been open since 1902. Another post office, Mayhew, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mayhew
1845–1902
Boswell
1902–today
18401930today

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

Questions about Boswell’s history

What year was Boswell founded?

The Boswell post office opened in 1902, 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 Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.