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History · Langley

Langley’s post office opened in 1939, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Langley was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: maps from 1896 on and the census since 1940.

1939first post office
1on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Langley began

When was Langley founded?

1939

The Langley post office opened in 1939, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 838 in 19402020 census: 60687 years
Founding year: the first Langley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Langley’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 Langley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1940 and 1950, then more than doubled.On the map since 18964 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1985. Watch Langley change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Langley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Langley’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

Langley, census by census

020040060080019401960198020002020838 in 1940Low: 204

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1940 and 1950, then more than doubled.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

On the map

Langley on the map, 1896 to 1985

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

Langley on the 1896 USGS mapLangley on the 1901 USGS mapLangley on the 1971 USGS mapLangley on the 1985 USGS map1896Pryor 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 Langley.

The story

How Langley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Langley.

Read it all →

Langley, still located at its original site, is on State Highway 82 at the west end of the Pensacola Dam, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and holds back the Grand Lake. Dam construction started in 1935. Cliff Bogle, the original owner in the area, divided his land into lots, and in 1937 the town was established with a public dedication and drawing for free lots. The town was named for Oklahoma State Senator J. Howard Langley. Langley incorporated on November 20, 1939, and a post office was established on January 20, 1939. The dam was completed in 1941, and the town began to promote itself to the recreation industry.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Langley, 1896 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1939Post officeThe Langley post office opens
  5. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 838
By decade

Langley, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Langley Welcome Park 8-20262026Langley Welcome Park 8-2026Langley Fire Station 8-20262026Langley Fire Station 8-2026OKMap-doton-Langley2004OKMap-doton-Langley
On the National Register

1 historic place in Langley

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2003
Pensacola Dam
Pensacola Dam
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Multiple Arch1
Moderne1
Pensacola DamMultiple Arch

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Langley

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

See all →
Phil McGrawAmerican television personality · b. 1950
Mickey MantleAmerican baseball player · b. 1931
Jim EdgarAmerican politician · b. 1946
Ralph TerryAmerican baseball player · b. 1936
Gary ConditAmerican politician · b. 1948
E
Evelyn VardenAmerican actress · b. 1893
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Sportmans ShoresIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKetchumIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Langley’s history

What year was Langley founded?

The Langley post office opened in 1939, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Langley?

One place: the Pensacola Dam (listed 2003).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.