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History · Gowen

Gowen’s post office opened in 1894

Most of Gowen was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1901 on.

1894first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Gowen began

When was Gowen founded?

1894

The Gowen post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 244132 years
Founding year: the first Gowen post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Gowen’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 Gowen are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19013 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1991. Watch Gowen change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gowen’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Gowen on the map, 1901 to 1991

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

Gowen on the 1901 USGS mapGowen on the 1971 USGS mapGowen on the 1991 USGS map1901Tuskahoma 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 Gowen.

The story so far

Gowen, in brief

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

Gowen is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Latimer County, Oklahoma, United States. The community is located to the south of U.S. Route 270 and 10 miles (16 km) west-southwest of Wilburton. Gowen has a post office with ZIP code 74545. The post office at Gowen, Indian Territory opened on January 13, 1894. The community was named for lawyer Francis I. Gowen. At the time of its founding, Gowen was located in the Moshulatubbee District of the Choctaw Nation. The population as of the 2020 Census was 244. The Census Bureau defined a census-designated place (CDP) for Gowen in 2015; the 2010 population within the 2015 CDP boundary was 244 and contained 118 housing uni…

Its first post office opened in 1894.

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

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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Famous people

Famous people close to Gowen

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

See all →
Reba McEntireAmerican country singer and actress · b. 1955
J
John BerrymanAmerican poet and scholar · b. 1914
Mary BlairAmerican artist · b. 1911
Micha HancockAmerican volleyball player · b. 1992
Carl AlbertAmerican politician · b. 1908
M
Michael WilsonAmerican screenwriter · b. 1914

Questions about Gowen’s history

What year was Gowen founded?

The Gowen post office opened in 1894, 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 →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.