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History · Erick

Erick’s post office opened in 1901, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the West Winds Motel. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1982 on.

1901first post office
1on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Erick’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Erick began

When was Erick founded?

1901

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

2020 census: 1,000125 years
Founding year: the first Erick post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Erick’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Erick’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFirst National Bank (1907), Main & Broa…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Erick came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Erick.

Read it all →

Erick was established in 1901 as an agricultural community on what would become the edge of the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1930s. It was located on the Ozark Trails Highway, one of the predecessors to the 1926 numbered US Highway system. Large segments of that road became part of U.S. Route 66.

ChaptersU.S. Route 66Country musicians

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Erick, 1901 to 1982

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901Post officeThe Erick post office opens
  3. 1921Born hereSheb Wooley is born here
  4. 1982In the archiveFirst National Bank (1907), Main & Broadway
By decade

Erick, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
First National Bank (1907), Main & Broadway1982First National Bank (1907), Main & Broadway
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
First National Bank2015First National BankOklahoma State Highway 30 southbound2011Oklahoma State Highway 30 southboundLove'sErickOK P2412009Love'sErickOK P241Sheb Wooley Street2002Sheb Wooley StreetCorner of Sheb Wooley and Roger Miller streets of2002Corner of Sheb Wooley and Roger Miller streets of
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.

First National Bank (1907), Main & Broadway
Retake this viewFirst National Bank (1907), Main & Broadway, 1982

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Erick

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
West Winds Motel
West Winds Motel
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Mission Revival1
All 1 listings
West Winds MotelBuilding · listed 2004

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

Questions about Erick’s history

What year was Erick founded?

The Erick 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 Erick?

One place: the West Winds Motel (listed 2004).

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.