More historic than 2% of U.S. towns · #129 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it
Most of Spencer was built recently: 0.1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1960.
Founding year: the first Spencer post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Spencer’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Spencer is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #129 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Spencer’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 Spencer’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (18% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D−. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 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 Spencer’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The region where Spencer was developed was opened to settlement in the Land Run of 1889. Louis F. and Henry W. Kramer, businessmen originally from Spencer County, Indiana, first arrived in Guthrie in 1889 and then moved to Oklahoma City.
Originally an agricultural area, Spencer grew after World War II with the nearby General Motors Assembly Plant and Tinker Air Force Base offering employment.
On January 20, 1982, seven children were killed by the explosion of a water heater in the cafeteria of the city's Star Elementary School.
The Spencer post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Spencer rank for history?
Spencer is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #129 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.
How old are the homes in Spencer?
0.1% of Spencer’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 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) 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.
