Most of Colbert was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Its Register listing is the Colbert's Ferry Site. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1899 on, and the census since 1940.
The Colbert post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Colbert's Station (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 602 in 19402020 census: 1,027173 years
How historic is Colbert?
C
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Colbert post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Colbert’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Colbert is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Colbert’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 Colbert’s 7.8 sits near the middle of its state (59% 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 C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. 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 Colbert’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.
1899Sheet 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.
Colbert men became prominent leaders among the Chickasaw for most of the 18th and 19th centuries, starting with William "de Blainville" Colbert from France born of Scottish blood. His parents fled during the Glorious Revolution in Scotland; hence, he was born in exile in Blainville-sur-Orne, France. William traveled to the New World to seek a new line of work as a fur trader since the Jacobite uprisings had ruined his entitlements as a "King Baron." These Colberts were also related to Jean Baptiste Colbert, Treasurer to King Louis XIV. There is a chateau named after Jean Baptiste Colbert in the aforementioned French town located on the Atlantic coast; it became a safe haven beginning in 1688.
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.
The Colbert post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Colbert rank for history?
Colbert is more historic than 29% 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 Colbert?
One place: the Colbert's Ferry Site (listed 1972).
How old are the homes in Colbert?
2% of Colbert’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), 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.
2004
