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History · Ramona

Ramona’s post office opened in 1899, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1910.

1899first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Ramona began

When was Ramona founded?

1899

The Ramona post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Bonton (1899), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 725 in 19102020 census: 524127 years
Founding year: the first Ramona post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Ramona’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 Ramona are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19014 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1985. Watch Ramona change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ramona’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ramona’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

Ramona on the map, 1901 to 1985

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

Ramona on the 1901 USGS mapRamona on the 1914 USGS mapRamona on the 1972 USGS mapRamona on the 1985 USGS map1901Nowata 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 Ramona.

The story

How Ramona came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ramona.

Read it all →

The town began as Bon-Ton, but changed its name to Ramona in 1899 in honor of the Helen Hunt Jackson novel of the same name.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ramona, 1899 to 1944

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1899Post officeThe Bonton post office opens
  3. 1899Post officeThe Bonton post office closes
  4. 1899Post officeThe Ramona post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1944Born hereRoger Minick is born here
By decade

Ramona, decade by decade

Today1 recent
OKMap-doton-Ramona2004OKMap-doton-Ramona
Every building

Ramona, building by building, 1920

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 sheet.

Ramona fire insurance map, 1920, sheet 11920Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Ramona, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 793

Between 508 and 793 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Ramona’s post office has been open since 1899. Another post office, Bonton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bonton
1899–1899
Ramona
1899–today
18901960today

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

Questions about Ramona’s history

What year was Ramona founded?

The Ramona post office opened in 1899, 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 →
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 (1), 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.