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History · Oaks

Oaks’ post office opened in 1881

Most of Oaks was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1970.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Oaks began

When was Oaks founded?

1881

The Oaks post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 219 in 19702020 census: 267145 years
Founding year: the first Oaks post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Oaks’ 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 Oaks are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18993 editions of the USGS map, 1899 to 1972. Watch Oaks change.Boom and bustPeaked at 591 in 1980; 267 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oaks’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oaks’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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On the map

Oaks on the map, 1899 to 1972

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

Oaks on the 1899 USGS mapOaks on the 1904 USGS mapOaks on the 1972 USGS map1899Siloam Springs 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 Oaks.

People over time

Oaks, census by census

0100200300400500600198020002020Peak: 591

Peaked at 591 in 1980; 267 people lived here in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

The story

How Oaks came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oaks.

Read it all →

In 1842, the Moravian Brethren began a new mission which they named New Springplace. It was intended to replace their former mission in Georgia, which they had abandoned after the Cherokees had been forced to emigrate to Indian Territory. The mission operated in its new location until after the outbreak of the American Civil War. In 1862, a group of Union troops and Pin Indians killed James Ward, a Cherokee missionary. They abducted Ward's wife and twin infant sons, though they released them about 20 miles (32 km) from the mission. The mission was abandoned for the remainder of the war.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Oaks, 1881 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Oaks post office opens
  3. 1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 591
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Oaks

Nobody well known was born in Oaks itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
L
Leon PenseAmerican gridiron football player · b. 1922
Mason FineAmerican football quarterback · b. 1997

Questions about Oaks’ history

What year was Oaks founded?

The Oaks post office opened in 1881, 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 →
Start a conversation
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 Wikipedia, 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.