New Cordell dates to 1892, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #6 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 53 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1956 on, and the census since 1910.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Cordell is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #6 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Cordell’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 New Cordell’s 201 sits above most of its state (99% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 55 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% 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 (±6.3 points). Two sources give 1892.
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 New Cordell’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Cordell began when H. D. Young opened a general store about 1.5 miles east of the present town, shortly after the Cheyenne and Arapaho lands were opened for non-Indian settlement in 1892. A post office named Cordell was established in the same year in Young's store. In 1897, A. J. Johnson and J. C. Harrell convinced Young to move his store to the present site, where water was more plentiful and of better quality than in Old Cordell. The new location became known as New Cordell. In 1900, Washita County residents voted to move the county seat from the town of Cloud Chief to New Cordell. The move was challenged in the court as illegal, because only the territorial legislature could authorize such an action. In 1904, the Oklahoma Territorial Supreme Court ruled that the county seat must return to Cloud Chief. A Cordell attorney, Sam Massengale, traveled to Washington, where he lobbied for a…
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.
Between 1,855 and 3,589 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on New Cordell’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cordell
1cemetery inside New Cordell
Cordell
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about New Cordell’s history
What year was New Cordell founded?
In 1892, according to Wikidata. New Cordell’s post office opened in 1892, and the census of 1910 counted 1,950 people here.
How does New Cordell rank for history?
New Cordell is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #6 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 New Cordell?
Three places: the Washita County Courthouse (listed 1984), the Cordell Carnegie Public Library (1989) and the New Cordell Courthouse Square Historic District (1999).
How old are the homes in New Cordell?
21% of New Cordell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1965.
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), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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