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History · Pontotoc

Pontotoc’s post office opened in 1858

Most of Pontotoc was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: maps from 1901 on.

1858first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Pontotoc began

When was Pontotoc founded?

1858

The Pontotoc post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 81168 years
Founding year: the first Pontotoc post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Pontotoc’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 Pontotoc are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pontotoc’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Pontotoc, in brief

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

Pontotoc is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Johnston County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 81 as of the 2020 Census. A post office was established in Pontotoc in 1858. The town was named after Pontotoc County, which was one of the divisions of the Chickasaw Nation. Pontotoc is located on US Route 377/State Highway 99 south of Ada and north of Tishomingo.

Its first post office opened in 1858.

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

Timeline

Pontotoc, 1858 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Pontotoc post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1973Post officeThe Pontotoc post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Pontotoc on the map, 1901 to 1985

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

Pontotoc on the 1901 USGS mapPontotoc on the 1985 USGS map1901Tishomingo 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 Pontotoc.

Famous people

Famous people close to Pontotoc

Nobody well known was born in Pontotoc itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Blake SheltonAmerican country music singer and television pe… · b. 1976
Kay StarrAmerican singer · b. 1922
Jesse RenickAmerican basketball player · b. 1917
Oral RobertsChristian religious leader, healing evangelist,… · b. 1918
Johny HendricksAmerican sport wrestler and mixed martial artist · b. 1983
Patrick J. HurleyPolitician · b. 1883
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Pontotoc had its own post office from 1858 to 1973.

Pontotoc
1858–1973
18501940today
1cemetery inside Pontotoc
Pontotoc

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

Questions about Pontotoc’s history

What year was Pontotoc founded?

The Pontotoc post office opened in 1858, 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 →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.