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History · Depew

Depew’s post office opened in 1901, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Depew was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Its Register listing is the Depew Route 66 Segment. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1915 on, and the census since 1930.

1901first post office
1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Depew’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Depew began

When was Depew founded?

1901

The Depew post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,126 in 19302020 census: 411125 years
Founding year: the first Depew post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Depew’s past

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

A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers.
★ What stands out · By decade

Depew, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s18 items
Blacksmith. Depew, Oklahoma1940Blacksmith. Depew, OklahomaBlacksmith. Depew, Oklahoma1940Blacksmith. Depew, OklahomaPlow points in blacksmith shop. Depew, Oklahoma1940Plow points in blacksmith shop. Depew, OklahomaBlacksmith and helper pounding out plow point. Depew, Oklahoma1940Blacksmith and helper pounding out plow point. Depew,…Blacksmith with wagon wheel hub and spokes. Depew, Oklahoma1940Blacksmith with wagon wheel hub and spokes. Depew, Ok…Blacksmith's helper disassembling plow belonging to Pomp Hall, Negro tenant farmer from Creek County, Oklahoma. Blacksm…1940Blacksmith's helper disassembling plow belonging to P…Negro farmer rolling much-repaired wagon wheel into blacksmith shop to see if it can again be repaired. Depew, Oklahoma1940Negro farmer rolling much-repaired wagon wheel into b…Negro farmer onloading much-repaired wagon wheel at the blacksmith shop where he hopes it can again be made serviceable…1940Negro farmer onloading much-repaired wagon wheel at t…Negro farmer and blacksmith shop workman look over much-repaired wagon wheels to see if they can be made usable again. …1940Negro farmer and blacksmith shop workman look over mu…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Blacksmith's helper disassembling plow belonging to Pomp Hall, Negro tenant farmer…1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Blacksmith's hel…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Blacksmith's helper disassembling plow belonging to Pomp Hall, Negro tenant farmer…1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Blacksmith's hel…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Blacksmith's helper disassembling plow belonging to Pomp Hall, Negro tenant farmer…1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Blacksmith's hel…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Blacksmith's helper disassembling plow belonging to Pomp Hall, Negro tenant farmer…1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Blacksmith's hel…Pomp Hall, Negro tenant farmer, and blacksmith loading Pomp's plow into truck after it has been sharpened. Depew, Oklah…1940Pomp Hall, Negro tenant farmer, and blacksmith loadin…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Pomp Hall, Negro tenant farmer, talking to another farmer as he waits at the black…1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Pomp Hall, Negro…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Pomp Hall, Negro tenant farmer, talking to another farmer as he waits at the black…1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Pomp Hall, Negro…Pomp Hall, Negro tenant farmer, talking to another farmer as he waits at the blacksmith shop1940Pomp Hall, Negro tenant farmer, talking to another fa…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Pomp Hall, Negro tenant farmer, talking to another farmer as he waits at the black…1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Pomp Hall, Negro…
1950s–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
Today5 recent
Depew 052017Depew 05Depew 032017Depew 03Depew 022017Depew 02Depew 012017Depew 01OKMap-doton-Depew2004OKMap-doton-Depew
The story

How Depew came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Depew.

Read it all →

Depew began as a settlement named Hall in 1898, when the St. Louis and Oklahoma City Railroad (later merged into the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway) built a line between Sapulpa and Oklahoma City. In 1901, Walter F. Malley named the community, gave it the present name and opened a post office.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Depew, 1901 to 1975

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901Post officeThe Depew post office opens
  3. 1940In the archiveBlacksmith. Depew, Oklahoma
  4. 1947Born hereLinda Larason is born here
  5. 1975On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Depew on the map, 1975 to 1990

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

Depew on the 1975 USGS mapDepew on the 1990 USGS map1975Depew 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 Depew.

Every building

Depew, building by building, 1915

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 sheet.

Depew fire insurance map, 1915, sheet 11915Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

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.

Blacksmith. Depew, Oklahoma
Retake this viewBlacksmith. Depew, Oklahoma, 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Depew

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
2014
Depew Route 66 Segment
Depew Route 66 Segment
Structures
All 1 listings
Depew Route 66 SegmentStructure · listed 2014

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

People over time

Depew, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20019401960198020002020Peak: 1,126

Between 411 and 1,126 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Depew

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

See all →
L
Linda LarasonAmerican politician · b. 1947
Kyle HilbertAmerican politician
Help out

Finish Depew’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBlacksmith. Depew, Oklahoma: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Depew’s history

What year was Depew founded?

The Depew post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Depew?

One place: the Depew Route 66 Segment (listed 2014).

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 (5), the Library of Congress (18), 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.