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History · Gene Autry

Gene Autry’s post office opened in 1941

Most of Gene Autry was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1900.

1941first post office
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Gene Autry began

When was Gene Autry founded?

1941

The Gene Autry post office opened in 1941, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Dresden (1883), Lou (1883) and Berwyn (1887), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 276 in 19002020 census: 15485 years
Founding year: the first Gene Autry post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Gene Autry’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Gene Autry are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Gene Autry.On the map since 19015 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1986. Watch Gene Autry change.Boom and bustPeaked at 435 in 1920; 154 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gene Autry’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Gene Autry’s post office has been open since 1941. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dresden
1883–1887
Lou
1883–1883
Berwyn
1887–1941
Gene Autry
1941–today
18801950today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Gene Autry
BerwynCalvary

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

On the map

Gene Autry on the map, 1901 to 1986

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

Gene Autry on the 1901 USGS mapGene Autry on the 1918 USGS mapGene Autry on the 1964 USGS mapGene Autry on the 1978 USGS mapGene Autry on the 1986 USGS map1901Ardmore sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Gene Autry came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gene Autry.

Read it all →

The town was originally named "Lou" by C.C. Henderson for his wife; the post office was established July 11, 1883. At the time of its founding, the community was located in Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation. On November 22, 1883, it was renamed "Dresden". The name was changed to "Berwyn" on September 1, 1887, after Berwyn, Pennsylvania, making the Oklahoma town one of several along the Santa Fe railroad line through the Territory (re)named for stations on the "Main Line" of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gene Autry, 1883 to 1941

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Dresden post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Lou post office opens
  4. 1883Post officeThe Lou post office closes
  5. 1887Post officeThe Dresden post office closes
  6. 1887Post officeThe Berwyn post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 435
  10. 1941Post officeThe Berwyn post office closes
By decade

Gene Autry, decade by decade

Today1 recent
OKMap-doton-GeneAutry2004OKMap-doton-GeneAutry
People over time

Gene Autry, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 435

Peaked at 435 in 1920; 154 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Gene Autry

Nobody well known was born in Gene Autry itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Rue McClanahanAmerican actress and comedian · b. 1934
Tommy FranksUnited States Army general · b. 1945
Kay StarrAmerican singer · b. 1922
Jesse RenickAmerican basketball player · b. 1917
D
Don E. WilsonAmerican mammalogist · b. 1944
Rex RyanAmerican football coach and analyst · b. 1962
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Ardmore16 historic placesB+

Questions about Gene Autry’s history

What year was Gene Autry founded?

The Gene Autry post office opened in 1941, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.