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History · Gerty

Gerty was first counted by the census in 1910, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1896 on and the census since 1910.

1910first census
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Gerty began

When was Gerty founded?

1910

Gerty first appears in the census in 1910. Two smaller post offices, Guertie (1894) and Raydon (1907), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 305 in 19102020 census: 92116 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Gerty’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 Gerty are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18965 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1990. Watch Gerty change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Gerty.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gerty’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gerty’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
On the map

Gerty on the map, 1896 to 1990

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

Gerty on the 1896 USGS mapGerty on the 1900 USGS mapGerty on the 1967 USGS mapGerty on the 1979 USGS mapGerty on the 1990 USGS map1896Coalgate 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 Gerty.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Gerty had its own post office from 1910 to 1965. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Guertie
1894–1907
Raydon
1907–1910
Gerty
1910–1965
18901960today

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

The story

How Gerty came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gerty.

Read it all →

During the early 1830s, as a result of President Andrew Johnson's Indian Relocation policy, the Choctaw Indians began moving into this part of what was called Indian Territory. One Choctaw community, then called "Buzzard Flop," became a rest stop for travelers and freight wagons headed westward. The site provided ample clear spring water and adequate level ground on which to camp. The Choctaws also found that the site was suitable cattle country, and several families built ranches in the area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gerty, 1894 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1894Post officeThe Guertie post office opens
  3. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1907Post officeThe Guertie post office closes
  6. 1907Post officeThe Raydon post office opens
  7. 1910Post officeThe Raydon post office closes
  8. 1910Post officeThe Gerty post office opens
  9. 1965Post officeThe Gerty post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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People over time

Gerty, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 305

Between 92 and 305 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Gerty

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

See all →
Blake SheltonAmerican country music singer and television pe… · b. 1976
Clu GulagerAmerican actor · b. 1928
Oral RobertsChristian religious leader, healing evangelist,… · b. 1918
Johny HendricksAmerican sport wrestler and mixed martial artist · b. 1983
Patrick J. HurleyPolitician · b. 1883
T. Boone PickensAmerican financier; Chairman, BP Capital Manage… · b. 1928

Questions about Gerty’s history

What year was Gerty founded?

The Gerty post office opened in 1910, 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 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.