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C−History
History · Frederick

Frederick’s post office opened in 1902, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #93 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it

Most of Frederick was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1964. Its Register listings are the Tillman County Courthouse and the Ramona Theatre. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1910.

1902first post office
2on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Frederick’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Frederick began

When was Frederick founded?

1902

The Frederick post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 3,027 in 19102020 census: 3,468124 years

How historic is Frederick?

C−

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Frederick post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Frederick’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Frederick is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #93 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Frederick’s overall grade.
Founding era1902, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19404.8% of homes (±2.1) · typical OK town 7.0% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 5.8 per 10,000 residents · typical OK town 5.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 23%
NewerOlder
Oklahoma towns of 2,500+ (131)Ahead of 29%

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 Frederick’s 5.8 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 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 Frederick’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 6,153 in 1980; 3,468 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1910 to 1924, drew every building in Frederick.Old housesHalf of Frederick’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · People over time

Frederick, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,500192019401960198020002020Peak: 6,153

Peaked at 6,153 in 1980; 3,468 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Every building

Frederick, building by building, 1910–1924

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.

Frederick fire insurance map, 1910, sheet 11910Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Frederick came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Frederick.

Read it all →

Originally established in 1901, the Frederick area was among the last of the Oklahoma Territory land to be opened to settlement. What is now Frederick used to be two towns: Gosnell and Hazel. Both towns were established in 1901, when the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache reservation was opened to settlement. In 1902 the towns combined in order to take advantage of the Blackwell, Enid and Southwestern Railway. The new town was named Frederick, after the son of a railroad executive. Gosnell received the depot, and the residents of Hazel moved north to the new town of Frederick. The post office moved from Gosnell to Frederick, for which it was renamed in 1902.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Frederick, 1880 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Tillman County - Frederick - ED 71-5, …
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902Post officeThe Frederick post office opens
  5. 1904Born hereCharles Collins is born here
  6. 1905In the archiveRiding into Frederick at end of hunt
  7. 1911In the archive1st M.E. Ch. [Church]
  8. 1918Born hereBob Bryant is born here
  9. 1921Born hereMilton Burrow is born here
  10. 1939In the archiveFarmer in town
  11. 1944Born hereAlyce Cleese is born here
  12. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 6,153
By decade

Frederick, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1930s5 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Tillman County - Frederick - ED 71-5, ED 71-6, ED 71-7A, ED 71-7B, E…18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Ti…Riding into Frederick at end of hunt1905Riding into Frederick at end of hunt1st M.E. Ch. [Church]19111st M.E. Ch. [Church]Farmer in town1939Farmer in townMen in front of bank1939Men in front of bank
1940s–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
Today7 recent
Frederick Oklahoma Aerial2017Frederick Oklahoma AerialFredrick, Oklahoma - Grain Elevator - July 9, 20112011Fredrick, Oklahoma - Grain Elevator - July 9, 2011Concert in park- Townsite2007Concert in park- TownsiteAirborne T c 472006Airborne T c 47Pioneer Townsite2005Pioneer TownsiteBomberBowl2005BomberBowlOKMap-doton-Frederick2004OKMap-doton-Frederick
On the map

Frederick on the map, 1958 to 1984

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

Frederick on the 1958 USGS mapFrederick on the 1984 USGS map1958Frederick sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Frederick.

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Tillman County - Frederick - ED 71-5, ED 71-6, ED 71-7A, ED 71-7B, E…
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Tillman County - Frederick - ED 71-5, ED 71-6, ED 71-7A, ED 71-7B, E…, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Frederick

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Tillman County Courthouse
Tillman County CourthouseRamona Theatre
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Classical1
Spanish Colonial Revival1
Tillman County CourthouseClassical
Ramona TheatreSpanish Colonial Revival

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Frederick

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

See all →
Charles CollinsAmerican actor · b. 1904
B
Bob BryantAmerican gridiron football player · b. 1918
A
Alyce CleeseAmerican psychotherapist · b. 1944
M
Milton BurrowAmerican sound editor · b. 1921
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Frederick’s post office has been open since 1902.

Gone or out of use
Frederick Army Air Fieldmilitary

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Frederick’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Frederick’s history

What year was Frederick founded?

The Frederick post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Frederick rank for history?

Frederick is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #93 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 Frederick?

Two places: the Tillman County Courthouse (listed 1984) and the Ramona Theatre (1984).

How old are the homes in Frederick?

5% of Frederick’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1964.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.