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History · Meridian

Meridian’s post office opened in 1894

Most of Meridian was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2008. Below: maps from 1919 on and the census since 1910.

1894first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: TheDoctorWho · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Meridian began

When was Meridian founded?

1894

The Meridian post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 199 in 19102020 census: 14132 years
Founding year: the first Meridian post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Meridian’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Meridian are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Meridian’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Meridian’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Meridian came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Meridian.

Read it all →

Non-Indians settled in this community in two stages. The west side at the time of the Land Run of 1889, and the east side when the Iowa, Sac and Fox, Kickapoo, Absentee Shawnee, and Citizen Band Potawatomi lands were opened in 1891. the Meridian Right-of-way and Townsite Company platted a town, which was incorporated in 1902. Sarah Harbor opened the first store in 1893, and sold it in 1895 to Miles William Allen, a successful claimant in the 1889 Land Run. A post office opened in Harbor's store on March 10, 1894

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Meridian, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Meridian, OK - Abandoned Church2023Meridian, OK - Abandoned ChurchMeridian Oklahoma Landscape2023Meridian Oklahoma LandscapeFriday's Little Meridian Store2023Friday's Little Meridian Store
On the map

Meridian on the map, 1954 to 1990

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Meridian. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Meridian on the 1954 USGS mapMeridian on the 1963 USGS mapMeridian on the 1990 USGS map1954Oklahoma City sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Meridian.

Every building

Meridian, building by building, 1919

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 sheet.

Meridian fire insurance map, 1919, sheet 11919Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Meridian, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 210

Between 14 and 210 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Meridian’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Meridian’s history

What year was Meridian founded?

The Meridian post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, 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.