Founding year: the first Caddo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Caddo’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Caddo is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Caddo’s overall grade.
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 Caddo’s 9.0 sits near the middle of its state (62% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Caddo’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.
1894Sheet 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.
On the map
Caddo on the map, 1899 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Caddo. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1899Atoka 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 Caddo.
The early inhabitants were Caddos and Choctaws, at least in the early 19th Century. A local legend says that the Caddos and the Choctaws had a fierce battle in 1840, about 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of the site of present-day Caddo, The Choctaws won the battle, driving off the Caddos.
After a patent for the land, located on a buffalo trail, was obtained in 1872, the first settlers lived in tents.
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Caddo, census by census
Peaked at 1,421 in 1920; 1,017 people lived here in 2020.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Caddo’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Caddo’s history
What year was Caddo founded?
The Caddo post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Caddo rank for history?
Caddo is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns. 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 Caddo?
One place: the Caddo Community Building (listed 1988).
How old are the homes in Caddo?
11% of Caddo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (7), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.
1938
1938
2020
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2020
2020
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