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History · Putnam

Putnam’s post office opened in 1895, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1962 on and the census since 1930.

1895first post office
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Putnam began

When was Putnam founded?

1895

The Putnam post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 140 in 19302020 census: 30131 years
Founding year: the first Putnam post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Putnam’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 Putnam are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Putnam’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Putnam’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

Putnam, in brief

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

Putnam is a town in Dewey County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 30 as of the 2020 United States census. The community lies along U.S. Route 183.

Its first post office opened in 1895. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 29 to 30 (+3%).

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

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

Putnam on the map, 1962 to 1985

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

Putnam on the 1962 USGS mapPutnam on the 1985 USGS map1962Putnam sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Putnam.

People over time

Putnam, census by census

010019401960198020002020Peak: 142

Between 29 and 142 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Putnam’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Putnam’s history

What year was Putnam founded?

The Putnam post office opened in 1895, 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, 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.