Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Soper was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1910.
The Soper post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Soper’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Soper. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Soper.
Peaked at 538 in 1920; 225 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Soper’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Soper.
At the time of its founding, Soper was located in Kiamitia County, one of the constituent counties comprising the Apukshunnubbee District of the Choctaw Nation.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Oklahoma - Choctaw County - ED 12-18, ED …
In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Choctaw County - ED 12-1 - ED 12-27
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveTownsite Limits of Soper, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory, Depot Station Grounds on the …
Born hereRay Wylie Hubbard is born here3 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
1916Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Soper’s page.
Retake this view · +15The Soper post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), 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.
2004