Pocola’s post office opened in 1881, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 27% of U.S. towns · #87 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
Most of Pocola was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Its Register listing is the Jenson Tunnel. Below: maps from 1887 on and the census since 1970.
Founding year: the first Pocola post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pocola’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pocola is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #87 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pocola’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 Pocola’s 2.3 sits near the middle of its state (43% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 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 Pocola’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Battle of Devil's Backbone took place nearby on September 1, 1863, and resulted in a victory for the Union Army.
A post office was established at Pocola, Indian Territory on February 15, 1881. The community took its name from the Choctaw word for the number ten, as the site was ten miles from Fort Smith, Arkansas. At the time of its founding the settlement was located in Skullyville County, a part of the Moshulatubbee District of the Choctaw Nation.
The Pocola post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Pocola rank for history?
Pocola is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #87 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 Pocola?
One place: the Jenson Tunnel (listed 1976).
How old are the homes in Pocola?
3% of Pocola’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
