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C+History
History · Konawa

Konawa’s post office opened in 1904, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Konawa Armory. Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1910.

1904first post office
1on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Konawa began

When was Konawa founded?

1904

The Konawa post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 701 in 19102020 census: 1,288122 years

How historic is Konawa?

C+

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Konawa’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Konawa is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Konawa’s overall grade.
Founding era1904, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194013.4% of homes (±3.9) · typical OK town 7.0% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 9.3 per 10,000 residents · typical OK town 5.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 36%
NewerOlder

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 Konawa’s 9.3 sits near the middle of its state (63% 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 (±3.9 points). 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 Konawa’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 Konawa are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19014 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1990. Watch Konawa change.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,707 in 1950; 1,288 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Konawa’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Konawa’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

Konawa on the map, 1901 to 1990

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

Konawa on the 1901 USGS mapKonawa on the 1958 USGS mapKonawa on the 1979 USGS mapKonawa on the 1990 USGS map1901Stonewall 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 Konawa.

People over time

Konawa, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,707

Peaked at 2,707 in 1950; 1,288 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Konawa came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Konawa.

Read it all →

Located in southwestern Seminole County, Konawa, a Seminole word meaning "string of beads," lies at the intersection of State Highways 9A and 39. On January 7, 1904, Tom West, a mixed-blood Seminole, sold George Northrup a plot of land that became the Konawa townsite. The post office was established on July 15, 1904, with Robert C. Lovelace as postmaster. Early-day establishments included the first newspaper, the Konawa Chief, hardware and drug stores, lumberyards, a blacksmith, and a bank. In 1903, the Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad (later the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway) bypassed the nearby town of Violet Springs. Most families and businesses moved to other towns. Some moved their houses to Konawa, and many of these buildings continued to stand at the turn of the twenty-first century.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Konawa, 1901 to 1950

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1904Post officeThe Konawa post office opens
  4. 1909Born hereWillmoore Kendall is born here
  5. 1929Born hereByron Beams is born here
  6. 1937BuiltKonawa Armory is built
  7. 1944Born hereGene Rounsaville is born here
  8. 1948Born hereAl McAffrey is born here
  9. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 2,707
By decade

Konawa, decade by decade

Today19 recent
Konawa, Oklahoma - 0192008Konawa, Oklahoma - 019Konawa, Oklahoma - 0182008Konawa, Oklahoma - 018Konawa, Oklahoma - 0172008Konawa, Oklahoma - 017Konawa, Oklahoma - 0162008Konawa, Oklahoma - 016Konawa, Oklahoma - 0152008Konawa, Oklahoma - 015Konawa, Oklahoma - 0142008Konawa, Oklahoma - 014Konawa, Oklahoma - 0132008Konawa, Oklahoma - 013Konawa, Oklahoma - 0122008Konawa, Oklahoma - 012Konawa, Oklahoma - 0112008Konawa, Oklahoma - 011Konawa, Oklahoma - 0102008Konawa, Oklahoma - 010Konawa, Oklahoma - 0092008Konawa, Oklahoma - 009Konawa, Oklahoma - 0082008Konawa, Oklahoma - 008Konawa, Oklahoma - 0072008Konawa, Oklahoma - 007Konawa, Oklahoma - 0062008Konawa, Oklahoma - 006Konawa, Oklahoma - 0052008Konawa, Oklahoma - 005Konawa, Oklahoma - 0042008Konawa, Oklahoma - 004Konawa, Oklahoma - 0032008Konawa, Oklahoma - 003Konawa, Oklahoma - 0022008Konawa, Oklahoma - 002Konawa, Oklahoma - 0012008Konawa, Oklahoma - 001
Every building

Konawa, building by building, 1915–1926

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.

Konawa fire insurance map, 1915, sheet 11915Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
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

1 historic place in Konawa

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1994
Konawa Armory
Konawa Armory, built 1937
Buildings
Konawa ArmoryBuilt 1937

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Konawa

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

See all →
Al McAffreyAmerican politician · b. 1948
W
Willmoore KendallAmerican political scientist · b. 1909
B
Byron BeamsAmerican football player · b. 1929
G
Gene RounsavilleAmerican baseball player · b. 1944

Questions about Konawa’s history

What year was Konawa founded?

The Konawa post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Konawa rank for history?

Konawa is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. 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 Konawa?

One place: the Konawa Armory (listed 1994).

How old are the homes in Konawa?

13% of Konawa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1971.

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 (19), Wikidata (1), 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.