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History · Delaware

Delaware’s post office opened in 1898, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1910.

1898first post office
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Delaware began

When was Delaware founded?

1898

The Delaware post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 662 in 19102020 census: 267128 years
Founding year: the first Delaware post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Delaware’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 Delaware are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19014 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1985. Watch Delaware change.Boom and bustPeaked at 804 in 1920; 267 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Delaware’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Delaware on the map, 1901 to 1985

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

Delaware on the 1901 USGS mapDelaware on the 1914 USGS mapDelaware on the 1972 USGS mapDelaware on the 1985 USGS map1901Nowata 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 Delaware.

People over time

Delaware, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 804

Peaked at 804 in 1920; 267 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Delaware came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Delaware.

Read it all →

In 1889, the Kansas and Arkansas Valley Railroad built a line through this area. It constructed a switch at the present townsite, which it named Comana Switch. A small community sprung up here, which soon became known as Delaware. The name became permanent when a post office was established by that name on March 19, 1898.

Discovery of oil nearby in 1904 briefly turned Delaware into a boom town with 4000 residents, but the boom burst and the population quickly fell to 108 by November 1907. The population has fluctuated since then, though generally declining from an official high of 804 in 1920.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Delaware, 1898 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898Post officeThe Delaware post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 804
By decade

Delaware, decade by decade

Today1 recent
OKMap-doton-Delaware2004OKMap-doton-Delaware
Every building

Delaware, building by building, 1912–1925

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.

Delaware fire insurance map, 1912, sheet 11912Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Famous people

Famous people close to Delaware

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

See all →
Will RogersAmerican humorist and entertainer · b. 1879
Mark PriceAmerican basketball player-coach · b. 1964
Johnny RutherfordAmerican racecar driver · b. 1938
Mildred BurkeAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1915
Patrick CranshawAmerican actor · b. 1919
Phil EhartAmerican rock drummer, songwriter · b. 1950

Questions about Delaware’s history

What year was Delaware founded?

The Delaware post office opened in 1898, 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), 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.