Lawton’s post office opened in 1901, and 22 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #77 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
Most of Lawton was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. 22 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Fort Sill, a National Historic Landmark, and three historic districts with 79 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1910.
The Lawton post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Fort Sill (1869), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 7,788 in 19102020 census: 90,381125 years
How did Lawton get its name?
Lawton was named after Major General Henry Ware Lawton, who served in the Civil War, where he earned the Medal of Honor, and was killed in action in the Philippine–American War.
How historic is Lawton?
C
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lawton is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #77 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 Lawton’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 Lawton’s 10.8 sits above most of its state (67% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 98 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. 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 Lawton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The territory of present-day Oklahoma was long settled by ancient cultures of prehistoric American Indians, including the Clovis, 11500 BCE; Folsom, 10600 BCE; and Plainview, 10000 BCE cultures.
The valleys of the Arkansas River and Red River were the center of Caddoan Mississippian culture, which began to develop about 800 CE. The people developed more dense settlement and a complex architecture of earthwork platform mounds. Archeological evidence has shown that these people were the direct ancestors of the historic Caddoan-language peoples who inhabited the larger region, including the Caddo and the Wichita peoples.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lawton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1946Lawton sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lawton.
Every building
Lawton, building by building, 1904–1923
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.
The Lawton post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lawton rank for history?
Lawton is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #77 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 Lawton?
22 listings: 15 buildings, 3 historic districts, the Fort Sill, the Post, Henry, Air Field and the Sunset-Vogue-Blue Ribbon Apartments Historic District, with 79 contributing buildings, 3 sites, and 1 structure. 98 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Lawton?
5% of Lawton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (7), the National Register of Historic Places (22), 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.
★ Landmark
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1917![13 and 14-year old boys (the youngest) cutting asparagus on farm near Lawton.] Location: [Lawton, Oklahoma](https://images.townratings.com/story/14315/f714fe85f9a64de910a3-s.jpg)
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