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C−History
History · Idabel

Idabel dates to 1902, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #92 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it

Most of Idabel was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1911 on and the census since 1910.

1902founded
5on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
11famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Idabel began

When was Idabel founded?

1902

Idabel dates its founding to 1902 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 1,493 in 19102020 census: 6,961124 years

How historic is Idabel?

C−

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1904.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Idabel’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Idabel is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #92 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Idabel’s overall grade.
Founding era1902, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19402.4% of homes (±1.9) · typical OK town 7.0% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register5 listings, 6 historic buildings, 8.6 per 10,000 residents · typical OK town 5.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 23%
NewerOlder
Oklahoma towns of 2,500+ (131)Ahead of 30%

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 Idabel’s 8.6 sits near the middle of its state (61% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1902.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Idabel’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 Idabel are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1911 to 1927, drew every building in Idabel.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.Famous sons and daughtersSunny Murray, Countess Vaughn and 9 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Idabel’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Idabel’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
Every building

Idabel, building by building, 1911–1927

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Idabel fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

5 historic places in Idabel

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Barnes-Steverson House
Barnes-Steverson HouseFrisco StationSpaulding-Olive House, built 1910Idabel Armory, built 1936Rouleau Hotel
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Romantic Greek Revival1
Vernacular1
Colonial1
Commercial1
Barnes-Steverson HouseNeo-Romantic Greek Revival
Frisco StationVernacular
Spaulding-Olive HouseColonial · Built 1910
Idabel ArmoryBuilt 1936
Rouleau HotelCommercial

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Idabel came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Idabel.

Read it all →

Idabel was established in 1902 as a station by the Arkansas and Choctaw Railway. (This was later part of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway, and the line is now operated by the Kiamichi Railroad).

The city was first named Purnell, after Isaac Purnell, a railroad official. When postal officials rejected that designation, the name was changed to Mitchell, honoring another railroad company officer. Postal officials rejected that name because another post office of the same name already existed elsewhere in the territory. They named the post office Bokhoma (a Choctaw word meaning Red River); it opened December 15, 1902.

Chapters2022 tornado

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Idabel, 1902 to 1978

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902
    FoundingIdabel is established
  3. 1904Post officeThe Idabel post office opens
  4. 1910BuiltSpaulding-Olive House is built
  5. 1933Born hereEarl Grant is born here
  6. 1936BuiltIdabel Armory is built
  7. 1936Born hereSunny Murray is born here
  8. 1950Born hereRay Burris is born here
  9. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1978Born hereCountess Vaughn is born here
By decade

Idabel, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Partial from2024Partial fromIdabel August 2018 25 (City of Idabel Public Safety)2018Idabel August 2018 25 (City of Idabel Public Safety)Idabel August 2018 24 (Idabel Fire Station)2018Idabel August 2018 24 (Idabel Fire Station)Idabel August 2018 16 (Central Elementary School)2018Idabel August 2018 16 (Central Elementary School)Idabel August 2018 10 (Idabel Middle School)2018Idabel August 2018 10 (Idabel Middle School)Idabel August 2018 09 (Idabel Masonic Lodge)2018Idabel August 2018 09 (Idabel Masonic Lodge)McCurtain County National Bank, Idabel, OK IMG 85102013McCurtain County National Bank, Idabel, OK IMG 8510Idabel, OK National Bank IMG 84962013Idabel, OK National Bank IMG 8496Idabel, OK Fire Station IMG 85052013Idabel, OK Fire Station IMG 8505OKMap-doton-Idabel2004OKMap-doton-Idabel
On the map

Idabel on the map in 1950

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Idabel.

Idabel on the 1950 USGS map1950Idabel 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 Idabel.

People over time

Idabel, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 7,658

Between 1,493 and 7,658 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

11 famous people were born in Idabel

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Sunny MurrayAmerican jazz drummer · b. 1936
C
Countess VaughnActress, singer · b. 1978
Earl GrantAmerican musician · b. 1933
Ray BurrisAmerican baseball player · b. 1950
J
Janice ScrogginsAmerican musician, jazz pianist and instructor · b. 1955
W
Wilma VictorChoctaw educator · b. 1919
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Idabel’s post office has been open since 1904.

Gone or out of use
Ward Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Idabel
Denison

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

Questions about Idabel’s history

What year was Idabel founded?

In 1902, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Idabel’s post office opened in 1904, and the census of 1910 counted 1,493 people here.

How does Idabel rank for history?

Idabel is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #92 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 Idabel?

5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Barnes-Steverson House (listed 1978, the first). 6 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Idabel?

2% of Idabel’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (10), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.