Most of Oologah was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Its Register listings are the Oologah Bank, the Oologah Pump and the I.W.W. Beck Building. Its Register listings are the Oologah Bank, the Oologah Pump and the I.W.W. Beck Building. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1891.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Oologah’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oologah is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oologah’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 Oologah’s 16.9 sits above most of its state (76% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.4 points). 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 Oologah’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1889, the Kansas and Arkansas Valley Railway (later, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway and subsequently part of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and now the Union Pacific Railroad) laid tracks through the area and established a townsite named Oologah, Indian Territory. Oologah was named for Oologah (Dark Cloud), a Cherokee chief. The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture says that the Oklahoma Federal Writers' Project claimed the name means "red horse fish" in the Cherokee language, while other sources say it means "cloudy weather" or just "clouds". The post office opened on May 25, 1891.
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Oologah, census by census
Grew from 308 people in 1900 to 1,193 in 2020, 3 times over.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Oologah’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Oologah’s history
What year was Oologah founded?
In 1889, according to Wikidata. Oologah’s post office opened in 1891, and the census of 1900 counted 308 people here.
How does Oologah rank for history?
Oologah is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns. 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 Oologah?
Three places: the Oologah Bank (listed 1982), the Oologah Pump (1982) and the I.W.W. Beck Building (1999).
How old are the homes in Oologah?
6% of Oologah’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (6), the Library of Congress (9), 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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