Most of Prue was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: maps from 1966 on and the census since 1970.
Prue was a small settlement when the Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad (later the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad, often called the MKT or "Katy") extended its line from Wybark (near Muskogee) to Osage via Prue in 1902–03. The Prue post office was established in September 1905, and town lots were sold at public auction beginning on March 22, 1911.
Oil exploration around Prue began circa 1911, and the Prue Field was opened east-northeast of town in 1920, becoming a major source of natural gas. The nearby East Osage City and Twin Creek oil fields have continued producing into the twenty-first century.
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 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.
