Ponca City dates to 1893, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #26 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
36 places in town are on the National Register, among them the E. W. Marland Mansion, a National Historic Landmark, and three historic districts with 128 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1879.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ponca City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ponca City is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #26 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ponca City’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 Ponca City’s 71.9 sits above most of its state (91% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 175 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% 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 (±1.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1893.
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 Ponca City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Ponca City was created in 1893 as "New Ponca" after the United States opened the Cherokee Outlet for European-American settlement during the Cherokee Strip land run, the largest land run in United States history. The site for Ponca City was selected for its proximity to the Arkansas River, a railway, and the presence of a freshwater spring near the river at what is modern 13th Street and South Avenue in Ponca City. The city was laid out by Burton Barnes, who drew up the first survey of the city and sold certificates for the lots he had surveyed. After the drawing for lots in the city was completed, Barnes was elected the city's first mayor.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ponca City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1968Ponca City 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 Ponca City.
Every building
Ponca City, building by building, 1894–1925
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.
Ponca City’s post office has been open since 1913. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Ponca
1879–1913
Cross
1893–1903
Ponca City
1913–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Ponca Military Academyschool
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Ponca City’s history
What year was Ponca City founded?
In 1893, according to Wikidata. Ponca City’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 1900 counted 2,528 people here.
How does Ponca City rank for history?
Ponca City is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #26 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 Ponca City?
36 listings: 31 buildings, among them the E. W. Marland Mansion (a National Historic Landmark since 1978), 3 historic districts, the Downtown Ponca City Historic District, the Lake Ponca Duck Pond Historic District and the Wentz Camp, with 128 contributing buildings, 1 structure, and 1 object. 175 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Ponca City?
12% of Ponca City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (4), Wikidata (8), the National Register of Historic Places (36), 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.
★ Landmark
1915
1917
1917
