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History · Deer Creek

Deer Creek dates to 1898, and 62% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Deer Creek General Merchandise Store. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1910.

1898founded
1on the National Register
62%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Deer Creek began

When was Deer Creek founded?

1898

Deer Creek dates its founding to 1898 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 166 in 19102020 census: 78128 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1899.The full story ↓

What stands out about Deer Creek’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 Deer Creek are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Deer Creek’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 312 in 1930; 78 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Deer Creek’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Deer Creek’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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The story

How Deer Creek came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Deer Creek.

Read it all →

The community began on March 14, 1898, when W. A. Bradford, president of the Gulf Railroad, bought 160 acres (0.65 km2) of land to establish a town along the route his railroad planned to use for a rail line between Medford and Blackwell, Oklahoma. The line was constructed between 1897-1898. On February 27, 1899, the post office at the nearby community of Orie was moved to Deer Creek.

The Deer Creek Mennonites organized on August 27, 1899, and opened a church in 1902. Soon, other denominations began meeting in the home of Elijah Franklin Webster, with a Methodist minister leading the service. The Christian and Methodist church buildings were constructed by 1909.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Deer Creek, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 312

Peaked at 312 in 1930; 78 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Timeline

Deer Creek, 1898 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898
    FoundingDeer Creek is established
  3. 1899Post officeThe Deer Creek post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910BuiltDeer Creek General Merchandise Store is built
  6. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 312
  7. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Deer Creek, decade by decade

Today1 recent
OKMap-doton-DeerCreek2004OKMap-doton-DeerCreek
On the map

Deer Creek on the map, 1968 to 1985

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

Deer Creek on the 1968 USGS mapDeer Creek on the 1985 USGS map1968Deer Creek 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 Deer Creek.

Every building

Deer Creek, building by building, 1902–1911

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.

Deer Creek fire insurance map, 1902, sheet 11902Sheet 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.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Deer Creek

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Deer Creek General Merchandise Store
Deer Creek General Merchandise Store, built 1910
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Plains Commercial1
Deer Creek General Merchandise StorePlains Commercial · Built 1910

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

Questions about Deer Creek’s history

What year was Deer Creek founded?

In 1898, according to Wikidata. Deer Creek’s post office opened in 1899, and the census of 1910 counted 166 people here.

What is on the National Register in Deer Creek?

One place: the Deer Creek General Merchandise Store (listed 1984).

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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.