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D−History
History · Glenpool

Glenpool’s post office opened in 1908

More historic than 3% of U.S. towns · #125 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it

Most of Glenpool was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1920.

1908first post office
0on the National Register
0.8%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Glenpool, Oklahoma · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Glenpool began

When was Glenpool founded?

1908

The Glenpool post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 428 in 19202020 census: 13,691118 years

How historic is Glenpool?

D−

More historic than 3% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Glenpool’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Glenpool is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #125 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Glenpool’s overall grade.
Founding era1908, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.8% of homes (±1.0) · 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 3%
NewerOlder
Oklahoma towns of 2,500+ (131)Ahead of 5%

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 Glenpool’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 (±1.0 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 Glenpool’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 Glenpool are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1920 and 1950, then grew more than tenfold.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Glenpool’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Glenpool’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
People over time

Glenpool, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,000192019401960198020002020428 in 1920Low: 280

Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1950, then grew more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Glenpool came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Glenpool.

Read it all →

On November 22, 1905, wildcatters, Robert Galbreath Jr. and Frank Chesley (along with, by some accounts, Charles Colcord), drilling for oil on farmland owned by Creek Indian Ida E. Glenn, created the first oil gusher in what would soon be known as the "Glenn Pool". The discovery set off a boom of growth for the area, bringing in hordes of people: lease buyers, producers, millionaires, laborers, tool suppliers, drunks, swindlers, and newspeople. Daily production soon exceeded 120,000 barrels (19,000 m3). The nearby city of Tulsa benefited from the production, and Glenpool calls itself the town that made Tulsa famous.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Glenpool, 1908 to 2020

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1908Post officeThe Glenpool post office opens
  3. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 21st century
  5. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 13,691
By decade

Glenpool, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Casey's in Brookover Corner2020Casey's in Brookover CornerGlenpool Public Safety Building2019Glenpool Public Safety BuildingGlenpool Saint Francis Hospital2018Glenpool Saint Francis HospitalGlenpool First Responders2018Glenpool First RespondersGlenpool Conference Center pond2018Glenpool Conference Center pondGlenpool Conference Center pond view2018Glenpool Conference Center pond viewGCC sign2018GCC signGlenpool aerial view2017Glenpool aerial viewAriel view of Southwest Crossroads development2017Ariel view of Southwest Crossroads developmentGlenpool Holiday Inn Express2014Glenpool Holiday Inn ExpressPumpjack, Glenn Pool oil field OK2010Pumpjack, Glenn Pool oil field OKMonument in 'Black Gold' Park2010Monument in 'Black Gold' ParkGlenpool Welcome Sign2009Glenpool Welcome SignGlenpool Comfort Inn2009Glenpool Comfort InnSouth County Recreation Center pool2008South County Recreation Center poolGlenpool VFW Memorial2008Glenpool VFW MemorialGlenpool VFW Memorial Monument2008Glenpool VFW Memorial MonumentGlenn Pool Historical Marker2008Glenn Pool Historical Marker
On the map

Glenpool on the map, 1958 to 1983

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

Glenpool on the 1958 USGS mapGlenpool on the 1967 USGS mapGlenpool on the 1983 USGS map1958Sapulpa South sheet · 1:24,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Glenpool

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

See all →
Jennifer JonesAmerican actress · b. 1919
Blake EdwardsAmerican film director, screenwriter and produc… · b. 1922
Martin GardnerAmerican mathematics and science writer · b. 1914
Garth BrooksAmerican country music singer and songwriter · b. 1962
A
Alfre WoodardAmerican actress · b. 1952
Kristin ChenowethAmerican actress, singer, author · b. 1968
Places that used to be

Old corners

Glenpool’s post office has been open since 1908.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Watkins

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

LibertyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJenks1 historic placeC−MoundsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBixbyIts storyDSapulpa7 historic placesB

Questions about Glenpool’s history

What year was Glenpool founded?

The Glenpool post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Glenpool rank for history?

Glenpool is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #125 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.

How old are the homes in Glenpool?

0.8% of Glenpool’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1995.

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 (18), 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.