Shawnee’s post office opened in 1892, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #39 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
15 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 9 buildings. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1900.
The Shawnee post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1895. Another post office, Kickapoo Station (1876), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 3,462 in 19002020 census: 31,377134 years
How historic is Shawnee?
B
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Shawnee post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1895.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Shawnee’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Shawnee is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #39 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Shawnee’s 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 Shawnee’s 6.9 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 22 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1895 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Shawnee’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Shawnee, building by building, 1896–1929
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.
After the American Civil War, the Creek and Seminole nations ceded part of their lands in Indian Territory to the federal government. The Sac and Fox, Citizen Band, Potawatomi, Absentee Shawnee and Kickapoo were subsequently removed to the region that later became Pottawatomie County.
During the 19th century, the area was crossed by the West Shawnee Cattle Trail. In 1891, lands held by the Sac and Fox, Iowa, Shawnee and Potawatomi were opened to non-Indian settlement following allotment and the sale of surplus tribal lands.
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.
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.
The Shawnee post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1895.
How does Shawnee rank for history?
Shawnee is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #39 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 Shawnee?
15 listings: 13 buildings, among them the Shawnee Friends Mission (listed 1973, the first), 1 historic district, the Bell Street Historic District, with 9 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 22 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Shawnee?
15% of Shawnee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (6), the National Register of Historic Places (15), 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.
1902
1902
1903
1905
1906
1906
1908
1979
1979