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History · Ryan

Ryan’s post office opened in 1890, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1904 on.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ryan’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ryan began, and where its name came from

When was Ryan founded?

1890

The Ryan post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Baldwin (1881), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 667136 years

How did Ryan get its name?

Ryan was named in honor of rancher Stephen W. Ryan, an Arkansas native who settled near present-day Ryan in 1875.

Founding year: the first Ryan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Ryan’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ryan’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLWS cartoon about the Apple Game: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Ryan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ryan.

Read it all →

The incorporated community of Ryan is located in southwestern Jefferson County. It is situated some two miles (3.2 km) north of the Red River at the intersection of U.S. Highway 81 and State Highway 32, eleven miles (18 km) south of Waurika and 115 miles (185 km) south by southwest of Oklahoma City. It was named in honor of rancher Stephen W. Ryan, an Arkansas native who settled near present-day Ryan in 1875.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ryan, 1881 to 1938

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Baldwin post office opens
  3. 1890Post officeThe Ryan post office opens
  4. 1892Post officeThe Baldwin post office closes
  5. 1892Post officeThe Ryan post office opens
  6. 1893Post officeThe Ryan post office closes
  7. 1895Born hereWilliam Portwood Erwin is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1904In the archiveLWS cartoon about the Apple Game
  10. 1910Born hereTillie Manton is born here
  11. 1914Born hereFloyd Tillman is born here
  12. 1938Born hereWilson Allen Shoffner is born here
By decade

Ryan, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
LWS cartoon about the Apple Game1904LWS cartoon about the Apple Game
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
RyanOklahoma1 (1 of 1)2017RyanOklahoma1 (1 of 1)
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

LWS cartoon about the Apple Game
Retake this viewLWS cartoon about the Apple Game, 1904

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Ryan’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

4 famous people were born in Ryan

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
F
Floyd TillmanAmerican country musician, songwriter · b. 1914
T
Tillie MantonAmerican football player · b. 1910
William Portwood ErwinAmerican flying ace · b. 1895
Wilson Allen ShoffnerAmerican general · b. 1938
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Ryan’s post office has been open since 1890. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Baldwin
1881–1892
Ryan
1890–today
Ryan
1892–1893
18801950today

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

Questions about Ryan’s history

What year was Ryan founded?

The Ryan post office opened in 1890, 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 (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.