Marietta’s post office opened in 1887, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #62 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
Most of Marietta was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Marietta post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Marietta’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marietta is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #62 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Marietta’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 Marietta’s 14.0 sits above most of its state (71% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±2.5 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 Marietta’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Marietta. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Gainesville 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 Marietta.
Every building
Marietta, building by building, 1898–1914
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.
Settlers were attracted by the fertile land near the Red River, which was conducive to agriculture and cattle raising. Cotton quickly became the principal crop. William "Bill" Washington had the largest cattle ranch in Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory. Bill's brother, Jeremiah Calvin Washington (Jerry), who lived about a mile north of present-day Marietta on the Washington Ranch which has a historical marker and is lived in by a Washington descendant's extended family, became the town's first postmaster when the post office opened on December 20, 1887. He was a banker and gentleman rancher. A local story claims that the town was named for Jerry's wife, Marietta Love Washington.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Marietta, census by census
Grew from 842 people in 1900 to 2,719 in 2020, 3 times over.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Marietta’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Marietta’s history
What year was Marietta founded?
The Marietta post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Marietta rank for history?
Marietta is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #62 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 Marietta?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Washington, Bill, Ranchhouse (listed 1971, the first).
How old are the homes in Marietta?
5% of Marietta’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), 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 (8), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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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