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History · Breckenridge

Breckenridge’s post office opened in 1901

Most of Breckenridge was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1920.

1901first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Breckenridge began

When was Breckenridge founded?

1901

The Breckenridge post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Cropper (1900) and Breckinridge (1901), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 132 in 19202020 census: 199125 years
Founding year: the first Breckenridge post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Breckenridge’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 Breckenridge are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1920 and 1960, then grew 4-fold.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Breckenridge, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Breckenridge’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Breckenridge’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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People over time

Breckenridge, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020132 in 1920Low: 42

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1920 and 1960, then grew 4-fold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Breckenridge had its own post office from 1901 to 1901. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cropper
1900–1908
Breckenridge
1901–1901
Breckinridge
1901–1963
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BreckinridgeCropper
1cemetery inside Breckenridge
Immanuel

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

The story

How Breckenridge came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Breckenridge.

Read it all →

The Enid and Tonkawa Railway (later sold to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway) built though the area in 1899 during construction of its line from North Enid to Billings. So, when the Blackwell, Enid and Southwestern Railroad (later the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway) also built a branch through the area in the 1900-1901 timeframe from Blackwell through Hunter and Enid to the town of Darrow, the two railroads intersected at Breckinridge's location. The Frisco Town Company platted the locale in March 1901, and named it for Breckinridge Jones, who was president of the Mississippi Valley Trust Company of St. Louis, Missouri and a major railroad investor. The post office originally used the "Breckenridge" spelling, but two months later changed over to the "Breckinridge" spelling.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Breckenridge, 1900 to 1970

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Cropper post office opens
  3. 1901Post officeThe Breckenridge post office opens
  4. 1901Post officeThe Breckenridge post office closes
  5. 1901Post officeThe Breckinridge post office opens
  6. 1908Post officeThe Cropper post office closes
  7. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1963Post officeThe Breckinridge post office closes
  9. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 261
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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On the map

Breckenridge on the map, 1956 to 1990

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

Breckenridge on the 1956 USGS mapBreckenridge on the 1982 USGS mapBreckenridge on the 1990 USGS map1956Garber 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 Breckenridge.

Famous people

Famous people close to Breckenridge

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

See all →
Owen K. GarriottAmerican electrical engineer and astronaut · b. 1930
N
Nicki AycoxAmerican actress · b. 1975
Glenda FarrellAmerican actress · b. 1904
Thad LuckinbillAmerican actor and film producer · b. 1975
Danny HodgeAmerican boxer, professional and amateur wrestl… · b. 1932
Richard ErdmanAmerican actor, film director · b. 1925

Questions about Breckenridge’s history

What year was Breckenridge founded?

The Breckenridge 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 →
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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 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.