History · Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City has 148 places on the National Register

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns · #34 of 131 in Oklahoma State. What drives it

Dated to 1889 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history), with 7% of its homes built before 1940 and 32 historic districts holding 5,232 contributing buildings. Most of Oklahoma City was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, the census since 1890, and every listing on the Register.

1889founded

148on the National Register

7%homes built before 1940

10old photos & papers

45famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Oklahoma City’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Oklahoma City began

When was Oklahoma City founded?

1889

Oklahoma City dates its founding to 1889 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 4,151 in 18902020 census: 681,054137 years

How historic is Oklahoma City?

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1887.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Oklahoma City’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oklahoma City is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #34 of 131 in Oklahoma State. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oklahoma City’s overall grade.

Founding era1889, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 19407.1% of homes (±0.4) · typical OK town 7.0% · U.S. 8.4%C⁺National Register148 listings, 5,232 historic buildings, 75.1 per 10,000 residents · typical OK town 5.9 · U.S. 2.4A⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 62%

NewerOlder

Oklahoma State towns of 2,500+ (131)Ahead of 75%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Oklahoma City ranks #202 on History.

Oklahoma State towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oklahoma State town has 5.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oklahoma City’s 75.1 sits above most of its state (92% of Oklahoma State towns have fewer) while its 5,232 historic buildings outnumber those of 100% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1889.

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 Oklahoma City’s past

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

A historic districtThe Gatewood West Historic District takes in 481 historic buildings.Landmarks on the Register148 places on the National Register.Lost villages13 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Oklahoma City, and 11 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18936 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1995. Watch Oklahoma City change.

★ What stands out · On the National Register

148 listings protect 5,232 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed

148

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

5,232

each building in a district counts

first listed

1970

Overholser House

BuildingsDistrictsSitesStructures

Architectural styles listings

Tudor Revival11

Colonial Revival10

Classical Revival9

Art Deco8

Commercial Style8

Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival8

Overholser HouseChateauesque

Harn HouseVictorian · Built 1904

Post Office, Courthouse, and Federal Office BuildingBeaux-Arts Classicism

Oklahoma State CapitolClassical · Built 1917

Central High SchoolBuilt 1910

Colcord BuildingBuilding

St. Paul's CathedralNorman Gothic

Oklahoma City Discovery WellBuilt 1928

All 147 listings

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Oklahoma City’s post office has been open since 1923. 13 other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Oklahoma Station

1887–1888

Oklahoma

1888–1923

Britton

1889–1950

Frisco

1889–1904

Case

1890–1906

Council Grove

1892–1894

Quincy

1892–1904

Stella

1892–1906

Hartzell

1893–1906

Douglas

1894–1900

18801950today

Hamlets and corners on the map

BrittonClothierDunjee ParkFlynnGreen PasturesLake AlumaLillard ParkNewallaStellaWheatlandWitcher

Gone or out of use

Alfred P. Murrah Federal BuildingbuildingClothier Oil FieldoilfieldDowntown AirparkairportExpressway AirparkairportHopcus Farms AirportairportJames Pasture AirportairportOklahoma City Air Force StationmilitaryQuincy Post Officepost officeWest Luther Oil and Gas Fieldoilfield

47family graveyards and cemeteries inside Oklahoma City

BrittonChapel Hill Memorial GardensChitwoodClearsprings MishakCzechoslovakian NationalEast ViewEmmanuelEwingFairlawnFairviewFord-Pleasant GroveForehandFriendshipFriscoHebrewHedigerHeritage Burial ParkHillcrest Memory GardensImmaculate ConceptionKuhlmanLillard and WoodardMartinMemorial ParkNew Hope ChurchOaklawn Memorial GardensOklahoma VeteransOlive HillPilgrim RestPilgrims RestPleasant ValleyResthaven GardensResurrectionRiversideRiverside GardensRoganRose Hill Burial ParkSaint Luke's ColumbariumSaint MartinsSchwartzSpring Creek MemorialStellaSunset Memorial ParkTemple B'Nai IsraelValleyWitcherWorleyWright's

See all 47

Britton Cemetery · Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens · Chitwood Cemetery · Clearsprings Mishak Cemetery · Czechoslovakian National Cemetery · East View Cemetery · Emmanuel Cemetery · Ewing Cemetery · Fairlawn Cemetery · Fairview Cemetery · Ford-Pleasant Grove Cemetery · Forehand Cemetery · Friendship Cemetery · Frisco Cemetery · Hebrew Cemetery · Hediger Cemetery · Heritage Burial Park · Hillcrest Memory Gardens · Immaculate Conception Cemetery · Kuhlman Cemetery · Lillard and Woodard Cemetery · Martin Cemetery · Memorial Park Cemetery · New Hope Church Cemetery · Oaklawn Memorial Gardens · Oklahoma Veterans Cemetery · Olive Hill Cemetery · Pilgrim Rest Cemetery · Pilgrims Rest Cemetery · Pleasant Valley Cemetery · Resthaven Gardens Cemetery · Resurrection Cemetery · Riverside Cemetery · Riverside Gardens Cemetery · Rogan Cemetery · Rose Hill Burial Park · Saint Luke's Columbarium · Saint Martins Cemetery · Schwartz Cemetery · Spring Creek Memorial Cemetery · Stella Cemetery · Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery · Temple B'Nai Israel Cemetery · Valley Cemetery · Witcher Cemetery · Worley Cemetery · Wright's Cemetery

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Oklahoma City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oklahoma City.

Read it all →

Oklahoma City was settled on April 22, 1889, when the area known as the "Unassigned Lands" was opened for settlement in an event known as "The Land Run". On April 26 of that year, its first mayor was elected, William Couch. Some 10,000 homesteaders settled in the area that would become the capital of Oklahoma. The town grew quickly; the population doubled between 1890 and 1900. Early leaders of the development of the city included Anton H. Classen, John Wilford Shartel, Henry Overholser, Oscar Ameringer, Jack C. Walton, Angelo C. Scott, and James W. Maney.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Oklahoma City, 1887 to 1980

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

19th century
1887Post officeThe Oklahoma Station post office opens
1888Post officeThe Oklahoma Station post office closes
1888Post officeThe Oklahoma post office opens
1889
FoundingOklahoma City is established
1889Post officeThe Britton post office opens
1890In the archiveOklahoma City, Indian territory
1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20th century
1904BuiltHarn House is built
1908In the archiveOklahoma State Capitol
1910BuiltCentral High School is built
1910In the archive1910 OKC Panorama
1914Born hereRalph Ellison is born here
1917BuiltOklahoma State Capitol is built
1923Post officeThe Oklahoma post office closes
1928BuiltOklahoma City Discovery Well is built
1949Born hereElizabeth Warren is born here
1950Post officeThe Britton post office closes
1980Born hereOlivia Munn is born here

By decade

Oklahoma City, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1900s5 items

1890Oklahoma City, Indian territory

1890Skyline of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

1908Oklahoma State Capitol

Heinz Entry in the Oklahoma City Flower Parade, published 1909

1909Heinz Entry in the Oklahoma City Flower Parade, publi…

J. Ellison Carroll, champion roper of the world and cow boys who took part in the roping contest, Oklahoma City, Dec. 3…

1909J. Ellison Carroll, champion roper of the world and c…

1910s5 items

19101910 OKC Panorama

1910Panoram #2 of Oklahoma City, Okla

1910Panoramic view #3, Oklahoma City, Okla

1910Bird's-eye panoramic view of Oklahoma City, Okla

1920s–1990snothing yet

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.

Add from your album

On the map

Oklahoma City on the map, 1893 to 1995

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

1893Oklahoma City sheet · 1:62,500

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

Every building

Oklahoma City, building by building, 1894–1922

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.

Oklahoma City fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 1

1894Sheet 1 of 12

Edition

Sheets

+11 more at the Library of Congress

BrickWoodStone

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this viewOklahoma City, Indian territory, 1890

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Oklahoma City’s page.

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Oklahoma City, census by census

Grew from 4,151 people in 1890 to 681,054 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

45 famous people were born in Oklahoma City

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

Elizabeth WarrenAmerican politician · b. 1949

Ralph EllisonAmerican novelist, literary critic, scholar and… · b. 1914

Blake GriffinAmerican basketball player · b. 1989

Olivia MunnAmerican actress, comedian, television personal… · b. 1980

J.J. CaleAmerican musician · b. 1938

Ray William JohnsonAmerican YouTuber · b. 1981

Help out

Finish Oklahoma City’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewOklahoma City, Indian territory: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Tuttle1 historic placeC Midwest CityIts storyD⁻Edmond8 historic placesC NewcastleIts storyD Yukon2 historic placesC Del CityIts storyD⁻Jones1 historic placeB⁻Moore1 historic placeC⁻ChoctawIts storyC⁻SpencerIts storyD⁻

Questions about Oklahoma City’s history

What year was Oklahoma City founded?

In 1889, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Oklahoma City’s post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1890 counted 4,151 people here.

How does Oklahoma City rank for history?

Oklahoma City is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #34 of 131 in Oklahoma State. 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 Oklahoma City?

148 listings: 112 buildings, among them the Overholser House (listed 1970, the first), 32 historic districts with 4,587 contributing buildings, 2 sites, and 1 structure. 5,232 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Oklahoma City?

7% of Oklahoma City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma State town; the median home was built in 1982.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (7), the National Register of Historic Places (147), 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.

Post to Oklahoma City

Check your email