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B−History
History · Park Hill

Park Hill’s post office opened in 1838, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #53 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it

Most of Park Hill was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1898 on.

1838first post office
4on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Park Hill’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Park Hill began

When was Park Hill founded?

1838

The Park Hill post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Greenleaf (1910), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 3,193188 years

How historic is Park Hill?

B−

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Park Hill post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Park Hill’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Park Hill is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #53 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Park Hill’s overall grade.
Founding era1838, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.9) · typical OK town 7.0% · U.S. 8.4%D−National Register4 listings, 12.4 per 10,000 residents · typical OK town 5.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 49%
NewerOlder
Oklahoma towns of 2,500+ (131)Ahead of 60%

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 Park Hill’s 12.4 sits above most of its state (70% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Park Hill’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1973. Watch Park Hill change.A National Historic Landmark4 places on the National Register, including Murrell Home, a National Historic Landmark.Deep rootsA post office since 1838: 188 years of Park Hill.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Park Hill’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Park Hill on the map, 1898 to 1973

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

Park Hill on the 1898 USGS mapPark Hill on the 1901 USGS mapPark Hill on the 1973 USGS map1898Tahlequah 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 Park Hill.

On the National Register

4 historic places in Park Hill

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmark
1
Murrell Home
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Murrell Home
First Cherokee Female Seminary Site, built 1851Ross CemeteryPark Hill Mission CemeteryMurrell Home★
BuildingsDistrictsSites★ landmark
★ Landmark
Murrell HomeBuilding
First Cherokee Female Seminary SiteBuilt 1851
All 4 listings
Ross CemeteryDistrict · listed 2002Park Hill Mission CemeterySite · listed 2006

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

The story

How Park Hill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Park Hill.

Read it all →

Park Hill was a pre-established hamlet that became the home for many of the Cherokee after coming from the East on the "Trail of Tears". In 1829 the Park Hill Mission was established. The mission had one of the earliest presses in Oklahoma, the Park Hill Mission Press. The first post office was established at Park Hill on May 18, 1838. It was in Park Hill that Chief John Ross made his home in 1839, as well as his nephew-in-law George Murrell, whose home still stands. On May 6, 1847, the post office was moved to Tahlequah. The Cherokee Female Seminary was built here in 1849.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Park Hill, 1838 to 1974

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1838Post officeThe Park Hill post office opens
  3. 1847Post officeThe Park Hill post office closes
  4. 1851BuiltFirst Cherokee Female Seminary Site is built
  5. 1852Born hereAlice Brown Davis is born here
  6. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Cherokee County - ED 11-1 - ED 11-16B
  7. 1892Post officeThe Park Hill post office opens
  8. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 20th century
  10. 1908Born hereMary Golda Ross is born here
  11. 1910Post officeThe Greenleaf post office opens
  12. 1925Post officeThe Greenleaf post office closes
  13. 1974LandmarkMurrell Home named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Park Hill, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Cherokee County - ED 11-1 - ED 11-16B18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Ch…
1890s–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
Today4 recent
Adams Corner - Kirche 72008Adams Corner - Kirche 7Virginia stround ukb2007Virginia stround ukbLittle miss cwy2007Little miss cwyHocheenee chapel2006Hocheenee chapel
Every building

Park Hill, building by building, 1919

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 sheet.

Park Hill fire insurance map, 1919, sheet 11919Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Cherokee County - ED 11-1 - ED 11-16B
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Cherokee County - ED 11-1 - ED 11-16B, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Park Hill

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

See all →
Mary Golda RossAmerican aerospace engineer, first Native Ameri… · b. 1908
Alice Brown DavisSeminole chief, interpreter, rancher, and trader · b. 1852
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Park Hill had its own post office from 1838 to 1847. Another post office, Greenleaf, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Park Hill
1838–1847
Park Hill
1892–today
Greenleaf
1910–1925
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Indian MeadowsTsa La Gi Indian Village
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Park Hill
ChambersGreenleafHendricksPark HillRossWorcester Mission

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

ZebIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKeysIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEttaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWellingIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTahlequah16 historic placesB+WoodallIts storyD

Questions about Park Hill’s history

What year was Park Hill founded?

The Park Hill post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Park Hill rank for history?

Park Hill is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #53 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 Park Hill?

4 listings: 1 building, among them the Murrell Home (a National Historic Landmark since 1974), 1 historic district, the Ross Cemetery,, and 2 sites.

How old are the homes in Park Hill?

0.0% of Park Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1988.

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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.