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–Not graded
History · Braggs

Braggs dates to 1886, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1910.

1886founded
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Braggs began

When was Braggs founded?

1886

Braggs dates its founding to 1886 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 259 in 19102020 census: 270140 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1886.The full story ↓

What stands out about Braggs’ 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 Braggs are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 430 in 1920; 270 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1899 to 1915, drew every building in Braggs.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Braggs’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Braggs’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

Braggs, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 430

Peaked at 430 in 1920; 270 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Every building

Braggs, building by building, 1899–1915

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 year, then a sheet.

Braggs fire insurance map, 1899, sheet 11899Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Braggs came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Braggs.

Read it all →

This town was named Patrick, Indian Territory, on May 2, 1886, for John J. Patrick, its first postmaster. On September 10, 1888, it was renamed for a prominent landowner, Solomon Bragg. Braggs remained a small farming town through the first part of the 20th century. During its early years, the community was regularly visited by outlaws such as the Cook Gang, Cherokee Bill and Henry Starr.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Braggs, 1886 to 1948

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886
    FoundingBraggs is established
  3. 1886Post officeThe Patrick post office opens
  4. 1888Post officeThe Patrick post office closes
  5. 1888Post officeThe Braggs post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1908Born hereBob Dunn is born here
  8. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 430
  9. 1931Born hereKen Hayes is born here
  10. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Braggs, decade by decade

Today1 recent
OKMap-doton-Braggs2004OKMap-doton-Braggs
On the map

Braggs on the map, 1948 to 1974

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

Braggs on the 1948 USGS mapBraggs on the 1950 USGS mapBraggs on the 1974 USGS map1948Webbers Falls 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 Braggs.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Braggs

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

See all →
B
Bob DunnAmerican musician · b. 1908
K
Ken HayesAmerican basketball coach · b. 1931
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Braggs’s post office has been open since 1888. Another post office, Patrick, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Patrick
1886–1888
Braggs
1888–today
18801950today

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.

Sand HillIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Braggs’ history

What year was Braggs founded?

In 1886, according to Wikidata. Braggs’ post office opened in 1886, and the census of 1910 counted 259 people here.

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 (1), 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.