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–Not graded
History · Cave Spring

Half of Cave Spring’s homes were built after 1987

Most of Cave Spring was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1898 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Cave Spring’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 Cave Spring 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 Cave Spring change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cave Spring’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cave Spring’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

Cave Spring on the map, 1898 to 1972

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

Cave Spring on the 1898 USGS mapCave Spring on the 1901 USGS mapCave Spring 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 Cave Spring.

The story so far

Cave Spring, in brief

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

Cave Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in Adair County, Oklahoma, United States. Part of the Cherokee Nation, it was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. As of the 2020 census, Cave Spring had a population of 74. The CDP is in southwestern Adair County, bordered to the southeast by Bunch and to the northeast by Lyons Switch. Bunch Road crosses the southeast side of the community, leading south 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to Bunch and northeast 12 miles (19 km) to Stilwell, the county seat. The CDP is hilly and mostly forested, with elevations ranging from 800 to 1,200 feet (240 to 370 m) above sea level. Sallisaw Creek, a south-flowing tributary of the Arkansas River, forms the bo…

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 Cave Spring

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

See all →
Atalie UnkaluntCherokee singer, activist, and designer · b. 1895
Ned ChristieCherokee leader · b. 1852
D
Donald VannNative American painter · b. 1949
J
John Auffetb. 1945
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

BunchIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cave Spring’s history

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.