Marlow’s post office opened in 1891, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 43% of U.S. towns · #64 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
Most of Marlow was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Its Register listings are the Montgomery-Linam House and the Marlow Armory. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Marlow post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Marlow’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marlow is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #64 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 Marlow’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 Marlow’s 4.5 sits near the middle of its state (50% 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 (±3.0 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 Marlow’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
1894Sheet 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.
Famous people
8 famous people were born in Marlow
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The site that would become Marlow was first settled by Dr. Williamson Marlow, the father of the five Marlow brothers, when he and his wife, Martha Jane, moved from Missouri to the Wildhorse Creek area in Oklahoma in 1880. William Rathmell's 1892 book Life of the Marlows detailed the history of the brothers' escapades and set a narrative for the city's legacy.
Born along the Chisholm Trail and on the banks of Wildhorse Creek, the legend of the Marlow family and the five Marlow brothers has been proven to be more fact than fiction.
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.
The Marlow post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Marlow rank for history?
Marlow is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #64 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 Marlow?
Two places: the Montgomery-Linam House (listed 1983) and the Marlow Armory (1994).
How old are the homes in Marlow?
9% of Marlow’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
2014
2012
2010
2004
