Mangum dates to 1882, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #11 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 39 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1886.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mangum’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mangum is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #11 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mangum’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 Mangum’s 156 sits above most of its state (97% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 43 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 points). Two sources give 1882.
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 Mangum’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Beginning in 1876, the nearby Great Western Cattle Trail was used to drive cattle north from Texas to market. The community of Mangum began in 1882 when Henry Clay Sweet established it on land granted to A. S. Mangum by the state of Texas. The Mangum post office was established April 15, 1886. This part of Texas (old Greer County) was given to Oklahoma in 1896. During Mangum's early days, the community's economy largely depended on very large cattle ranches owned or leased by land companies such as the Day Land and Cattle Company of Texas and the Franklyn Land and Cattle Company, an English syndicate. The local cowboys called Mangum "Tin City" because so many tin cans were unrolled and nailed over the wooden planks that served as sidewalks.
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.
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.
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 Mangum. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1971Mangum South 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 Mangum.
Every building
Mangum, building by building, 1902–1916
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.
In 1882, according to Wikidata. Mangum’s post office opened in 1886, and the census of 1910 counted 3,067 people here.
How does Mangum rank for history?
Mangum is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #11 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 Mangum?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Greer County Courthouse (listed 1985, the first), and 1 historic district, the Downtown Mangum Historic District, with 39 contributing buildings. 43 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Mangum?
18% of Mangum’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1959.
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 (8), Wikidata (4), 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.
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