More historic than 3% of U.S. towns · #125 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
Most of Calera was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. Below: maps from 1911 on and the census since 1900.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Calera is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #125 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Calera’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 Calera’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (18% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: the first census (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 Calera’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Calera was formerly known as Cale Switch or Cale, when in 1872 the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway built a railroad through the Choctaw Nation, and the small community was established on the east side of the tracks. The name Cale came from railroad official George W. Cale. Seventeen years later, the people of Cale Switch, Indian Territory had their first post office. That same year the town was given the name Sterrett, but Katy, also referred to as Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railway, railroad officials refused to call it by that name. The debate continued for twenty-one years when finally in 1910 the town accepted the name Calera.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Calera. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958Durant 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 Calera.
Every building
Calera, building by building, 1911–1918
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 Calera post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Calera rank for history?
Calera is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #125 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.
How old are the homes in Calera?
0.8% of Calera’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 2001.
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 (2), 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.
2016
2004
