The Heavener post office opened in 1896, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1898. Another post office, Petros (1898), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 234 in 19002020 census: 2,985130 years
How historic is Heavener?
B−
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Heavener post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1898.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Heavener’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Heavener is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #56 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Heavener’s overall grade.
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 Heavener’s 3.3 sits near the middle of its state (46% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1898 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Heavener’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Joseph H. Heavener and some other white settlers arrived, secured permits to farm from the Chocktaw Indians, and settled down to farm. In 1880, Zachary Taylor Ward and his Choctaw wife, Tabitha Hickman Ward, moved their store from Skullyville to the present site of Heavener. Ward died in 1883, and his widow, Tabitha, married Heavener. The couple owned the land on which the town was established. Before being named Heavener by a popular vote in 1895, the area was known by several different names, including Prairie of the Tall Grass, Choctaw City, Prairie View, Long Prairie, and Grand Prairie.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Heavener’s post office has been open since 1896. Another post office, Petros, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Heavener
1896–today
Petros
1898–1901
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Petros
Gone or out of use
Municipal Airportairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Heavener
Heavener Memorial ParkHillOakdale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Heavener’s history
What year was Heavener founded?
The Heavener post office opened in 1896, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1898.
How does Heavener rank for history?
Heavener is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #56 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.
What is on the National Register in Heavener?
One place: the Old City Hall, Theater and Masonic Lodge (listed 2020).
How old are the homes in Heavener?
15% of Heavener’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2024
2021
2004
