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History · Cromwell

Cromwell’s post office opened in 1924

Most of Cromwell was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1967. Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1930.

1924first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Cromwell began, and where its name came from

When was Cromwell founded?

1924

The Cromwell post office opened in 1924, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 249 in 19302020 census: 238102 years

How did Cromwell get its name?

Cromwell was named for oilman Joe I. Cromwell, who platted the original town in 1923.

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

What stands out about Cromwell’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 Cromwell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19003 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1985. Watch Cromwell change.Boom and bustPeaked at 451 in 1940; 238 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cromwell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cromwell’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

Cromwell on the map, 1900 to 1985

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

Cromwell on the 1900 USGS mapCromwell on the 1967 USGS mapCromwell on the 1985 USGS map1900Wewoka 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 Cromwell.

People over time

Cromwell, census by census

010020030040050019401960198020002020Peak: 451

Peaked at 451 in 1940; 238 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

The story

How Cromwell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cromwell.

Read it all →

Founded in 1923, and named for Muscogee oilman, Joe I. Cromwell, Cromwell had a post office on May 17, 1924.

Cromwell was a wild and wooly town in the early 1920s. The town was said to be full of saloons, brothels and outlaws. About 150 businesses operated in Cromwell during the 1920s, many selling moonshine alcohol and narcotics to residents of the surrounding area. However, about seventy of these were permanently closed during an enforcement drive. The illegal sales continued because a Federal Prohibition Unit agent named Wiley Lynn was connected to mobster Arnold Killian.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cromwell, 1900 to 1940

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1924Post officeThe Cromwell post office opens
  4. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 451
By decade

Cromwell, decade by decade

Today1 recent
OKMap-doton-Cromwell2004OKMap-doton-Cromwell
Famous people

Famous people close to Cromwell

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

See all →
Woody GuthrieAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1912
Jim ThorpeAmerican track and field athlete and baseball p…
William R. PogueAmerican astronaut · b. 1930
Wanda JacksonAmerican singer, songwriter, pianist and guitar… · b. 1937
Clu GulagerAmerican actor · b. 1928
John HerringtonAmerican astronaut · b. 1958
Places that used to be

Old corners

Cromwell’s post office has been open since 1924.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Schoolton

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

Questions about Cromwell’s history

What year was Cromwell founded?

The Cromwell post office opened in 1924, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, 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.