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–Not graded
History · Caney

Half of Caney’s homes were built after 1994

Most of Caney was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: maps from 1898 on.

0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Caney’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 Caney are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1972. Watch Caney change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Caney’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Caney’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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On the map

Caney on the map, 1898 to 1972

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

Caney on the 1898 USGS mapCaney on the 1901 USGS mapCaney on the 1972 USGS map1898Tahlequah 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 Caney.

The story so far

Caney, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Caney yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Caney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, United States, within the Cherokee Nation. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. It includes the unincorporated community of Tailholt. The CDP is in eastern Cherokee County, bordered to the south by Tenkiller, to the west by Etta, to the north by Welling, and to the east by Adair County. By road, it is 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Tahlequah, the county seat. The majority of the CDP is drained by Caney Creek, which flows southwest to join the Illinois River in Tenkiller Ferry Lake. 1,220-foot-high (370 m) Sugar Mountain occupies the western part of the CDP, rising 400 feet (120 m) above the surrounding c…

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

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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Famous people

Famous people close to Caney

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

See all →
Wilma MankillerPrinciple Chief of the Cherokee Nation · b. 1945
Mary Golda RossAmerican aerospace engineer, first Native Ameri… · b. 1908
Adrian HouserAmerican baseball player · b. 1993
Tyler BunchAmerican actor · b. 1970
Atalie UnkaluntCherokee singer, activist, and designer · b. 1895
Alice Brown DavisSeminole chief, interpreter, rancher, and trader · b. 1852
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Tailholt
1cemetery inside Caney
Caney

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.

TenkillerIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWellingIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEttaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Caney’s history

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.