Enid’s post office opened in 1893, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #19 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
24 places in town are on the National Register, among them five historic districts with 388 buildings between them. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1900.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Enid is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #19 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 Enid’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 Enid’s 81.7 sits above most of its state (93% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 414 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Enid’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Enid, building by building, 1894–1925
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.
Prior to the Land Run of 1893, the land where present-day Enid, Oklahoma sits was part of O County in the Cherokee Outlet, and was occupied by the Cherokee people following the Treaty of New Echota and the Cherokee trail of tears. Historically, the area was a hunting ground for the Wichita, Osage, and Kiowa tribes. The Chisholm Trail, stage coach lines, mail routes, and railroads passed through stations in the town which was then known as Skeleton.
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 Enid post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Enid rank for history?
Enid is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #19 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 Enid?
24 listings: 19 buildings, among them the Rock Island Depot (listed 1979, the first), and 5 historic districts with 388 contributing buildings. 414 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Enid?
14% of Enid’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 1969.
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 (11), Wikidata (7), the National Register of Historic Places (24), 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.
1908
1966
1979
2009
2007
