Durant dates to 1872, and 7 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 57% of U.S. towns · #42 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
Most of Durant was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 7 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 48 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1879.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Durant’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Durant is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #42 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 Durant’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 Durant’s 27.3 sits above most of its state (83% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 54 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% 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 (±1.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1872.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Durant’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.
1894Sheet 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
7 listings protect 54 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Durant area was once claimed by both Spain and France, before officially becoming part of the United States after the Louisiana Purchase and Adams–Onís Treaty. During the 1820s and 1830s, the area was designated as part of the Choctaw Nation in the southern Indian Territory. During the Indian removals, the Choctaws followed the Choctaw Trail of Tears from their ancestral homeland in Mississippi and Alabama into this area. The Choctaw Nation originally extended from the Mexican border in the west (now part of the Texas Panhandle) to the Arkansas Territory in the east, from the Red River in the south to the South Canadian River in the north. In 1855, the Choctaw and Chickasaws formally divided their land into two separate nations, with Durant remaining in Choctaw territory on the east. Chickasaw land extended west to the boundary that divided the Indian Territory from the Oklahoma Ter…
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.
In 1872, according to Wikidata. Durant’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 1900 counted 2,969 people here.
How does Durant rank for history?
Durant is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #42 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 Durant?
7 listings: 5 buildings, 1 historic district, the Durant Downtown Historic District, with 48 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 54 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Durant?
8% of Durant’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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.
1901
1902
1917
