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B+History
History · Checotah

Checotah’s post office opened in 1886, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #30 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it

7 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Honey Springs Battlefield NHL, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 46 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1963 on, and the census since 1900.

1886first post office
7on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Checotah’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Checotah began, and where its name came from

When was Checotah founded?

1886

The Checotah post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 805 in 19002020 census: 3,018140 years

How did Checotah get its name?

Checotah was named for Samuel Checote, the first chief of the Creek Nation elected after the Civil War.

How historic is Checotah?

B+

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Checotah post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Checotah’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Checotah is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #30 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Checotah’s overall grade.
Founding era1886, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194010.7% of homes (±4.1) · typical OK town 7.0% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register7 listings, 51 historic buildings, 166 per 10,000 residents · typical OK town 5.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 66%
NewerOlder
Oklahoma towns of 2,500+ (131)Ahead of 78%

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 Checotah’s 166 sits above most of its state (98% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 51 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 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 Checotah’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A National Historic Landmark7 places on the National Register, including Honey Springs Battlefield NHL, a National Historic Landmark.A historic districtThe Checotah Business District takes in 46 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Checotah’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Checotah’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewChecotah Oklahoma Circa 1900: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

7 listings protect 51 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
7
National Historic Landmark
1
Honey Springs Battlefield NHL
historic buildings protected
51
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Checotah Business District
Methodist Episcopal Church, SouthChecotah MKT DepotTabor House, built 1912Checotah City HallOklahoma Odd Fellows Home at ChecotahChecotah Business District
BuildingsDistrictsStructures★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian2
Romanesque Revival2
Federalist Revival1
Stick/Eastlake1
Prairie School1
Commercial1
★ Landmark
Honey Springs Battlefield NHLStructure
Methodist Episcopal Church, SouthFederalist Revival
Checotah MKT DepotStick/Eastlake
Tabor HousePrairie School · Built 1912
Checotah City HallCommercial
Oklahoma Odd Fellows Home at ChecotahLate Victorian
All 7 listings
Checotah Business DistrictDistrict · listed 1982

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Checotah came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Checotah.

Read it all →

The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad (also known as the MKT or Katy) established a railhead on the old Texas Road in 1872 that became the site of present-day Checotah. Although it was named "Checote Switch" for Samuel Checote, a later mapmaker spelled the name as Checotah. The town was chartered by the Creek Nation in 1893. The Dawes Commission held its first meeting here.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Checotah, 1886 to 2013

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Checotah post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900In the archiveChecotah Oklahoma Circa 1900
  5. 1912BuiltTabor House is built
  6. 1914Born hereJim G. Lucas is born here
  7. 1922Born hereMajor Bill Smith is born here
  8. 1942Born hereMel McDaniel is born here
  9. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1969Born hereTracy Scroggins is born here
  11. 21st century
  12. 2013LandmarkHoney Springs Battlefield NHL named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Checotah, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Checotah Oklahoma Circa 1900c. 1900Checotah Oklahoma Circa 1900
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Date unknown2 to date
Enrollment for Cherokee Census Card D168Date?Enrollment for Cherokee Census Card D168Enrollment for Cherokee Census Card D168Date?Enrollment for Cherokee Census Card D168
Today10 recent
Untitled photo2021Untitled photoUntitled photo2021Untitled photoCross and Bravado Wireless Door Decals2019Cross and Bravado Wireless Door DecalsCross Telephone2019Cross TelephoneTabor House2017Tabor HouseOklahoma Odd Fellows Home at2017Oklahoma Odd Fellows Home atMethodist Episcopal Church2017Methodist Episcopal ChurchChecotah MKT Depot2017Checotah MKT DepotChecotah City Hall2017Checotah City HallOKMap-doton-Checotah2004OKMap-doton-Checotah
On the map

Checotah on the map, 1963 to 1993

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

Checotah on the 1963 USGS mapChecotah on the 1993 USGS map1963Checotah sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Checotah.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Checotah Oklahoma Circa 1900
Retake this viewChecotah Oklahoma Circa 1900, c. 1900

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Checotah’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Checotah, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,481

Between 805 and 3,481 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Checotah’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Checotah

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Mel McDanielAmerican country music artist · b. 1942
J
Jim G. LucasAmerican journalist · b. 1914
T
Tracy ScrogginsAmerican football player · b. 1969
M
Major Bill SmithAmerican record producer · b. 1922
Jerry McPeakAmerican politician · b. 1946
Jim KillingsworthAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1923
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Checotah’s post office has been open since 1886.

Gone or out of use
Koch Airportairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Checotah
Checotah IOOF HomeGreen LawnIndian Territory Checotah

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Checotah’s history

What year was Checotah founded?

The Checotah post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Checotah rank for history?

Checotah is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #30 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 Checotah?

7 listings: 5 buildings, 1 historic district, the Checotah Business District, with 46 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 51 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Checotah?

11% of Checotah’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1973.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (13), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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) 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.