Most of Luther was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Its Register listings are the Engels' Dry Goods Store and the Threatt Filling Station. Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first Luther post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Luther’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Luther is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Luther’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 Luther’s 12.3 sits above most of its state (70% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±3.2 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 Luther’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost half of its people between 1990 and 2000, then more than doubled.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Luther’s Wikipedia page.
The story so far
Luther, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Luther yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Luther is a town in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, Luther had a population of 1,492. Luther owes its existence to Charles Gasham "Gristmill" Jones, who platted the land and sold it for a profit. The town of Luther would be named after Charles Gasham "Gristmill" Jones's son from his first marriage.
Its first post office opened in 1898. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,221 to 1,492 (+22%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Luther, 1898 to 1990
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Luther. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1909Luther 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 Luther.
Every building
Luther, building by building, 1915–1922
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.
1915Sheet 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
2 historic places in Luther
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Luther post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Luther rank for history?
Luther is more historic than 49% 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 Luther?
Two places: the Engels' Dry Goods Store (listed 1980) and the Threatt Filling Station (1995).
How old are the homes in Luther?
10% of Luther’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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