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History · Paden

Paden’s post office opened in 1903

Most of Paden was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1974 on and the census since 1910.

1903first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Paden began

When was Paden founded?

1903

The Paden post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 419 in 19102020 census: 419123 years
Founding year: the first Paden post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Paden’s 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 Paden are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 620 in 1940; 419 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Paden’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Paden’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Paden, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020Peak: 620

Peaked at 620 in 1940; 419 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story so far

Paden, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Paden yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Paden is a town in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 419 at the 2020 Census. It is named for Paden Tolbert, a U.S. Deputy Marshal who served the area in the early 1900s.

Its first post office opened in 1903. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 461 to 419 (-9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Paden, 1903 to 1974

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1903Post officeThe Paden post office opens
  3. 1907Born hereEd Baecht is born here
  4. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 620
  5. 1974On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Paden, decade by decade

Today6 recent
FireDept2013FireDeptFFA Trailer2013FFA TrailerFAcsDoor2013FAcsDoorDark Merry-Go-Round2013Dark Merry-Go-RoundChurchFront2013ChurchFrontOKMap-doton-Paden2004OKMap-doton-Paden
On the map

Paden on the map, 1974 to 1990

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

Paden on the 1974 USGS mapPaden on the 1990 USGS map1974Paden sheet · 1:24,000

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

Questions about Paden’s history

What year was Paden founded?

The Paden post office opened in 1903, 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.