Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns · #23 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
10 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 29 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1900.
The Miami post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Miami is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #23 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Miami’s 30.9 sits above most of its state (84% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 40 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
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 →
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.
1896Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Miami.
The city was founded in an unusual way, compared to other towns established in Indian Territory. Per the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, "... it was settled in a business-like way by men of vision who looked into the future and saw possibilities. It didn't just grow. It was carefully planned."
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Ottawa County - Miami - ED 58-11, ED 5…
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archivePanoramic view of lead and zinc mining and concentrating plants near
Born hereDon Porter is born hereBuiltGeorge L. Coleman Sr. House is built
In the archiveCherokee Motel, on U.S. 66 and 69, at city limits north -- Miami, Okla (87103)
Born hereBob Rockwell is born here
In the archiveNeosho River at Miami, OK4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Miami. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Miami.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Miami’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 1,527 and 14,237 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Miami’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Miami post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Miami is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #23 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.
10 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Commerce Building/Hancock Building (listed 1983, the first), and 1 historic district, the Miami Downtown Historic District, with 29 contributing buildings. 40 historic buildings in all.
17% of Miami’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1965.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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.
1909