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–Not graded
History · Box

Box’s post office opened in 1911

Most of Box was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1898 on.

1911first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Box began

When was Box founded?

1911

The Box post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Roy (1911), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 153115 years
Founding year: the first Box post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Box’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 Box are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18984 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1982. Watch Box change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Box’s collection

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

Box on the map, 1898 to 1982

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

Box on the 1898 USGS mapBox on the 1901 USGS mapBox on the 1972 USGS mapBox on the 1982 USGS map1898Tahlequah 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 Box.

The story so far

Box, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Box yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Box is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, Box had a population of 153. Oklahoma State Highway 82 passes through the community. Box was previously known as Roy; its post office changed its name to Box on July 7, 1911, after resident Henry Box. The post office closed on February 29, 1928.

Its first post office opened in 1911. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 224 to 153 (-32%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Box, 1898 to 1928

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. 1911Post officeThe Box post office opens
  5. 1911Post officeThe Roy post office opens
  6. 1911Post officeThe Roy post office closes
  7. 1928Post officeThe Box post office closes
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

Famous people close to Box

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

See all →
John JarmanSon of John Henry Jarman I and Gran. · b. 1915
Frederick F. HenryUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1919
B
Bob DunnAmerican musician · b. 1908
B
Brian FosterAmerican mixed martial arts fighter · b. 1984
J
John WhisenantAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1945
S
Steve OwensAmerican football player and administrator · b. 1947
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Box had its own post office from 1911 to 1928. Another post office, Roy, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Box
1911–1928
Roy
1911–1911
19101970today
1cemetery inside Box
Box

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Redbird SmithIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEvening ShadeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Box’s history

What year was Box founded?

The Box post office opened in 1911, 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 →
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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 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.