Duncan’s post office opened in 1884, and 8 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #57 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
Most of Duncan was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Duncan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1892.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Duncan’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Duncan is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #57 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Duncan’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 Duncan’s 4.8 sits near the middle of its state (50% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 11 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1892 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Duncan’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.
The Chisholm Trail passed to the east of Duncan prior to the town's founding. An estimated 9,800,000 Longhorn cattle were herded up the trail between Texas and Abilene, Kansas, during its existence. After learning that an extension of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was being built from Kansas to Texas, Scotsman William Duncan brought his wife, parents, and other relatives and created a trading post situated at the intersection of the north-south Chisholm Trail and the east–west military passage between Fort Arbuckle and Fort Sill. The first train arrived on June 27, 1892; that date is considered the official birth date of the town.
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.
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 Duncan post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1892.
How does Duncan rank for history?
Duncan is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #57 of 131 in Oklahoma. 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 Duncan?
8 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Johnson Hotel and Boarding House (listed 1986, the first). 11 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Duncan?
9% of Duncan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1972.
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), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.
