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History · Quapaw

Quapaw’s post office opened in 1897, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1907 on and the census since 1920.

1897first post office
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: TheWhitePelican · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Quapaw began

When was Quapaw founded?

1897

The Quapaw post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1917.

First census: 1,394 in 19202020 census: 811129 years
Founding year: the first Quapaw post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1917.The full story ↓

What stands out about Quapaw’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 Quapaw are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19073 editions of the USGS map, 1907 to 1982. Watch Quapaw change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Quapaw’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Quapaw on the map, 1907 to 1982

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

Quapaw on the 1907 USGS mapQuapaw on the 1961 USGS mapQuapaw on the 1982 USGS map1907Wyandotte 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 Quapaw.

The story

How Quapaw came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Quapaw.

Read it all →

In 1891, Kansas farmer Isaac Bingham moved his family south into Ottawa County, then part of land assigned to the Quapaw Nation. It became part of the state of Oklahoma in 1907 after admission. The family founded a community and opened several businesses. Quapaw Chief John Quapaw donated land for a community school. The Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis Railroad established a railroad stop and siding at this site. This established access to markets for hay and agricultural products of the area, attracting more settlers. A post office was opened in the community grocery store in 1897.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Quapaw, 1897 to 1938

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1897Post officeThe Quapaw post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1938Born hereJudy Farrell is born here
By decade

Quapaw, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Robert Whitebird Cultural Center Quapaw Oklahoma exterior2025Robert Whitebird Cultural Center Quapaw Oklahoma exte…Quapaw, Oklahoma April 27, 2014 tornado damage2014Quapaw, Oklahoma April 27, 2014 tornado damageRoute 66 in2008Route 66 inQuapaw City Hall2008Quapaw City HallOKMap-doton-Quapaw2004OKMap-doton-Quapaw
People over time

Quapaw, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,394

Between 811 and 1,394 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Questions about Quapaw’s history

What year was Quapaw founded?

The Quapaw post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1917.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 Wikimedia Commons (5), 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) 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.