Sand Springs’ post office opened in 1911, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns · #91 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
Most of Sand Springs was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Its Register listings are the Sand Springs Power Plant, the Page Memorial Library and the Fort Arbuckle Site. Below: maps from 1914 on and the census since 1920.
The Sand Springs post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Fisher (1904) and Piatt (1911), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 4,067 in 19202020 census: 19,874115 years
How historic is Sand Springs?
C
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Sand Springs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sand Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sand Springs is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #91 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sand Springs’ overall grade.
Oklahoma towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oklahoma town has 5.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Sand Springs’ 1.5 sits near the middle of its state (40% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Sand Springs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The city was founded in 1911, by philanthropist Charles Page, a wealthy businessman in Oklahoma. He envisioned Sand Springs as a haven for orphans and widows. Page helped found and develop Sand Springs as a model city that included all components of a total community.
Page bought 160 acres of land in Tulsa County in 1908, intending to build a home for orphan children. The first 27 children, who had been abandoned by the Hook & Anchor Orphanage in Tulsa, were housed in a tent. This was soon replaced by a frame building large enough to house 50 children.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sand Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1956Sand Springs sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sand Springs.
Every building
Sand Springs, building by building, 1914–1919
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 year, then a sheet.
The Sand Springs post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Sand Springs rank for history?
Sand Springs is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #91 of 131 in Oklahoma. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Sand Springs?
Three places: the Sand Springs Power Plant (listed 1998), the Page Memorial Library (1999) and the Fort Arbuckle Site (1978).
How old are the homes in Sand Springs?
8% of Sand Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1981.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
2025
2020
2020
2020
2020
2020
2020
2019
2013
2012
2008
2006
