Broken Arrow’s post office opened in 1881, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #90 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
Most of Broken Arrow was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Its Register listings are the Broken Arrow Elementary-Junior High School, the Haskell State School of Agriculture and the Bridgeport Hill Service Station. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1900.
The Broken Arrow post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1902. Another post office, Oneta (1905), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,383 in 19002020 census: 113,540145 years
How historic is Broken Arrow?
C
More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Broken Arrow post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1902.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Broken Arrow’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Broken Arrow is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #90 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Broken Arrow’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Broken Arrow ranks #330 on History.
Oklahoma towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oklahoma town has 5.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Broken Arrow’s 0.3 sits near the middle of its state (37% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Broken Arrow’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1902.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Broken Arrow’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
The city's name comes from an old Creek community in Alabama. Members of that community were expelled from Alabama by the United States government, along the Trail of Tears in the 1830s. The Creek founded a new community in the Indian Territory and named it after their old settlement in Alabama. The town's name in the Muscogee language was Rekackv (pronounced [ɬiˌkaːtʃkə]), meaning "broken arrow". The new Creek settlement was located several miles south of present-day downtown Broken Arrow.
The community of Elam, located in present-day Broken Arrow near 145th East Avenue and 111th Street, began around 1901. It consisted of a cluster of stores, a cotton gin, and a few homes.
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.
The Broken Arrow post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1902.
How does Broken Arrow rank for history?
Broken Arrow is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #90 of 131 in Oklahoma. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Broken Arrow?
Three places: the Broken Arrow Elementary-Junior High School (listed 2003), the Haskell State School of Agriculture (1978) and the Bridgeport Hill Service Station (2003).
How old are the homes in Broken Arrow?
1% of Broken Arrow’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1994.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (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.
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