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D−History
History · Geronimo

Geronimo’s post office opened in 1903

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Geronimo was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1962 on, and the census since 1910.

1903first post office
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Geronimo’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Geronimo began

When was Geronimo founded?

1903

The Geronimo post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 186 in 19102020 census: 1,158123 years

How historic is Geronimo?

D−

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Geronimo’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Geronimo is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Geronimo’s overall grade.
Founding era1903, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19401.3% of homes (±1.3) · typical OK town 7.0% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical OK town 5.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 4%
NewerOlder

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 Geronimo’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (18% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 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 Geronimo’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1910 and 1950, then grew more than tenfold.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Geronimo’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Geronimo’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 view6-year old Jewel Walker. See 4564 and 4…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Geronimo, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400192019401960198020002020186 in 1910Low: 103

Lost a third of its people between 1910 and 1950, then grew more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story so far

Geronimo, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Geronimo yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Geronimo is a town in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, Geronimo had a population of 1,158. It is included in the Lawton, Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1903. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,268 to 1,158 (-9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Geronimo, 1903 to 2010

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1903Post officeThe Geronimo post office opens
  3. 1916In the archive6-year old Jewel Walker. See 4564 and 4565. Location: Comanche County--[Geronimo], Oklaho…
  4. 1962On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 21st century
  6. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 1,268
By decade

Geronimo, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s4 items
6-year old Jewel Walker. See 4564 and 4565. Location: Comanche County--[Geronimo], Oklahoma19166-year old Jewel Walker. See 4564 and 4565. Location:…5-year old Harold Walker. See 4564 and 4565. Location: Comanche County--[Geronimo], Oklahoma19165-year old Harold Walker. See 4564 and 4565. Location…Jewel and Harold Walker, 6 and 5 years old, pick 20 to 25 pounds of cotton a day. Father said: "I promised em a little …1916Jewel and Harold Walker, 6 and 5 years old, pick 20 t…Family of C.J. Walker, Route 2, Box 781916Family of C.J. Walker, Route 2, Box 78
1920s–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
On the map

Geronimo on the map, 1962 to 1987

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

Geronimo on the 1962 USGS mapGeronimo on the 1987 USGS map1962Walters 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 Geronimo.

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.

6-year old Jewel Walker. See 4564 and 4565. Location: Comanche County--[Geronimo], Oklahoma
Retake this view6-year old Jewel Walker. See 4564 and 4565. Location: Comanche County--[Geronimo], Oklahoma, 1916

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Geronimo

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

See all →
R
Ron HowardAmerican film director, producer, and actor · b. 1954
Van HeflinAmerican actor · b. 1908
J
Jeane KirkpatrickAmerican diplomat and Presidential advisor · b. 1926
Leon RussellAmerican singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist … · b. 1942
N. Scott MomadayKiowa author and academic · b. 1934
Hoyt AxtonAmerican musician · b. 1938

Questions about Geronimo’s history

What year was Geronimo founded?

The Geronimo post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Geronimo rank for history?

Geronimo is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns. 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.

How old are the homes in Geronimo?

1% of Geronimo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1987.

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 the Library of Congress (4), 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.